Nearly-unlimited Commission-free Online Stock Market Trade Investing



When I was in middle school during the late 90s, I was obsessed with learning everything I could about investing and stock trading techniques. I was pumped, ready to make my first real trade on penny stocks and watch my wealth grow out of nothing from dividends and capital gains. Sadly, when I saw the price tag on a single stock trade, my heart sank. I was even more disappointed when I read the minimum initial investment.
Despite the fact that discount brokerage firms were in vogue back then, the stakes were still kind of high. If you were lucky, you could carry out stock transactions at about $10 per trade. Alas, those discount brokerages wanted serious, wrinkled, grown-up investors who could easily pluck down the $3000 minimum initial investment at a moment’s notice. Come on! I was only in middle school! All I really wanted to do was to invest $25 and see what would happen.
Lack of Experiment-friendly Brokerages
Many experimenting, first-time brokers who just want to “test the waters” with a couple hundred dollars experience this setback. If you plan to invest in a wide variety of companies, the trade commissions will burn a hole in your pocket and severely decrease your net gain.
ShareBuilder – Web 1.0 Trading
When I got a job and – finally – some money to trade, I hired ShareBuilder as my broker. For $12 a month, I was entitled to 6 stock trades placed on any Tuesday at 2 PM. This restriction may seem stringent but it was a lot better than paying $50 more for real-time day trading. I’m more interested in long-term growth.
Zecco – Web 2.0 Trading
Then, I heard about Zecco, a commission-free stock brokerage, from MyMoneyBlog. Intrigued, I checked it out. There had to be a catch. They offered a maximum of 10 free trades per day with a cumulative maximum of 40 trades per month. That is more than enough for any aspiring day trader!
Where’s the Revenue?
In examining any startup, the first thing that comes to mind is the money flow. People always ask, “So, how do you make money?” Zecco, with its unique pricing structure (or lack thereof), is no exception to that rule. From what I’ve read in MyMoneyBlog and The Motley Fool, Zecco’s primary income flows from three sources: cash balances, margin rates, and AdSense.
- Cash balances are understandable. Some investors prefer to keep their “play money” with their broker. Much like a bank savings account, Zecco takes this money and invests it.
- Margin rates, their second stream of income, are a little more complicated. Investors, drunk with the powerful feeling of nearly-unlimited free trades, take out loans from Zecco at high interest rates. Depending on your credit card, you might as well be taking out a hefty cash advance!
- Zecco’s third main source of income caught me by surprise. AdSense? I would never have guessed it! With a highly trafficked website filled with free finance resources pertaining to market trends, data statistics analysis, amateur speculative forums/blogs, and education, scattering a few contextual advertising has the potential of making a good chuck of money.
Typical fees
Zecco’s fee schedule is similar to many other typical brokerages. Check it out on their website in the cleaverly title “What is not Free” section. I’m sure they don’t really make a killing on these miscellaneous fees since they are not so commonly incurred.
Is Zecco Part of the Inevitable Web 2.0 Bubble?
I guess that there really is a free lunch. Zecco even gave hot dogs away to the public on it’s opening day to make a point! In my opinion, Zecco sounds like a great idea! But, I’ll pass … for now. I want to observe it for a couple of months before I move my eggs from my ShareBuilder “basket,” kind of let the soup simmer and the dust settle.
Do you think that this revolutionary fee structure will change the face of the stock market? Or, will it just flop and be like every other discount brokerage? If you’ve tried Zecco or if you have another perspective, please share your thoughts in the comment form below.
Subscribe to The Information Bank by Email |
Submit to del.icio.us
|
digg it!
|
Submit to Slashdot
Posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
14 Responses to “Nearly-unlimited Commission-free Online Stock Market Trade Investing”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This site is best viewed with FF and at least 1024x768 resolution.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I have an account with zecco and I\’m really satisfied with them. However, I prefer Thinkorswim better than zecco.
September 2nd, 2013 at 12:27 pm
In reality, women are not just walking down a catwalk; they are walking down the street or
racing to work in 5-inch heels and a 2-ton bag,
and unaware of how they are treating their bodies. so people
became open-minded and started adopting changes and that included changes in their
fashion sense. There is a worrying trend these days whereby a
lot of men are wearing suits less and less.
Also visit my web blog :: fashion angels make up artist sketchbook
September 17th, 2013 at 3:33 am
With some searching, you ccan find a pair of Etnies skate
shoes that iss not only affordable but inn good quality as well.
These days with every change in the trends one will seee new versions of existing standard
fashion. Celenrity innspired fashion is something that will never go away and is becoming all the more popular with reality TV shows andd twlent shows creating countless new celebrities to to bee inspired by, meaning there is
something for every woman out there to identify with and make her own.
my webpage; Stardoll fame fashion and friends english
October 11th, 2013 at 2:20 pm
I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post’s to
be exactly what I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers
to write content in your case? I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you
write in relation to here. Again, awesome site!
October 18th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Appreciating the time and effort you put into your blog
and detailed information you offer. It’s nice to come across a blog every once
in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material.
Excellent read! I’ve bookmarked your site and
I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
December 26th, 2013 at 6:51 am
I savour, result in I found just what I used to be having a look
for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day.
Bye
My weblog: clenbuterol
February 18th, 2014 at 12:48 pm
Truly no matter if someone doesn’t understand afterward its up to other users that they will assist, so here it occurs.
February 27th, 2014 at 7:13 am
Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped
me out much. I hope to give something back and help others
like you helped me.
March 4th, 2014 at 3:48 am
What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It absolutely useful and it has aided me out loads.
I hope to contribute & help other customers like its aided me.
Good job.
March 16th, 2014 at 2:07 am
Hі therе everyone, it’s my first goo to see
at tɦis web site, ɑndd ƿiece оf writing iѕ truly fruiffսl in support of
me, keep up postinց such articleѕ.
March 28th, 2014 at 1:41 pm
This is a great tiip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
Shorrt but very precise information… Thank you for sharing this one.
A must read article!
Look at my blog – colombian girls flake
April 5th, 2014 at 4:55 am
Howdy very nice site!! Guy .. Excellent ..
Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also?
I am glad to find a lot of useful information here in the
post, we want develop more techniques on this regard,
thank you for sharing. . . . . .
April 13th, 2014 at 9:01 am
I am in fact grateful to the holder of this site
who has shared this fantastic post at at this time.
April 18th, 2014 at 5:18 pm
As such, it must not be too difficult to shell out some time developing a database of tables along the lines of what is
suggested at where they’ve got provided a sample
database spec for use in a accommodation reservation application.
A very convenient method to search for things about the web is
to easily speak your search term. Now, movies aren’t one and only thing that piracy
trackers allow links too.