mmr

I have had two accounts with Zecco, one regular and the second an IRA. I closed the regular account and will close the IRA once the positions are closed.

Zecco stands for Zero Commissions. This is no longer the case. The $4.5/trade is a great price; however, they could have done a better job squeezing out low-quality customers. For example, lower it to 1-5 free trades to existing customers, just so that they can get their foot in the door. (For more experienced traders, execution time in milliseconds is more important that commission price. Think about it: $10000 trade times 1 penny = $100. If client gets a penny worst because broker missed a better price, client is better off paying even $50 for the trade, as he/she lost $100.)

I understand that they had to raise the price, especially in this market, but this means it makes less sense to go with them. Streaming quotes is non-existence and trading platform... if one can call it a platform, begs for attention.

One other positive thing (in addition to low price) is if you have a positive cash balance, you can select from three money market funds (symbols CSAXX, ITRXX and CHSXX). Granted, most/all MMF now yield close to 0%. Nevertheless, it is an option not offered by all brokers (example: TD Ameritrade), and will become important when rates rise again.

The bottom line is that they were great in the beginning but it now makes less sense to go with Zecco (relative to the competition).

I have opened a number of accounts since they changed their name from GMAC Bank, only because the rates are competitively higher. Everything went smoothly, from initial setup to fund transfers.

Regardless of Countrywide's ratings or financial position, as long as your balance is $100k or less your money is as safe as treasuries.

I don't expect Zecco to be free for very long, at least not 10 trades free. It will remain one of the cheapest, and as long as you don't need customer service and can use other broker's market platform (assuming you have accounts with other brokers), you will be fine.

most airlines (except for united, which is 1200 for just 78 issues) have this offer of 1700 miles for 230 issues.

bottomline: if you want a deal on the wsj this is not it