As I narrowed my choice for the Small Investor Portfolio‘s broker, I decided I would set up an account at both Zecco and Choice Trade. One would be for the Small Investor’s Portfolio and the other for the 80-20 portfolio. I have my impressions of setting up accounts at both companies.

Choice Trade- The first two times I called, I spoke to someone who didn’t have answers to any of my questions. I was placed on hold, while he went to get the answers. In the first case the answer he gave me was wrong, so I had to call back. Choice Trade’s website was a little clunky. The electronic signature function did not work on the latest version of Safari or Firefox for Mac. I don’t know if there is any problem with Internet Explorer, but the Electronic signature function simply didn’t work. and there was no bypass. Very disappointing. When I faxed the revised paperwork with signature, I got no response. The next issue was with ACH.  There is some new area that forces a redirect. Very unprofessional looking. Choice Trade definitely feels like a broker where you are getting what you pay for and a little less. But then I called and spoke to Ron, a manager, and everything changed. Very good customer service, very helpful and all the issues were resolved quickly. I funded my Small Investor Portfolio through ACH or electronic transfer between financial institutions. This went faster than the five business days they say it would take, because they allowed me to fax them a copy of my bank balance showing that the money had been redrawn to fund the account. Ultimately, setting up an account and funding at Choice Trade took half the time of setting up and funding an account at Zecco.

Zecco-  A company I was prepared to dislike, because of all the complaints I read about online. They had a super easy and intuitive website. I was never confused and had no difficulty filling out the application on line. I simply printed the document when done, signed it, added a copy of my driver’s license and faxed it to Zecco. No problems. The issues I had with Zecco came later. They definitely take their time approving an account. Days go by. Finally, Zecco has a glitch in their web software. Everytime I log in to my account I have to re-sign some disclosures. Hopefully, this will be fixed tomorrow, when I call the customer service. Ultimately, they have friendly knowledgeble customer service persons and a more intuitive website, but it takes the longest I have ever seen to actually set up and fund the account.

During my down time I purchased shares under both accounts. I will update soon.

2 Responses to “Zecco vs. ChoiceTrade – Which is better?”

1. Jae Jun
   April 7th, 2010 @ 8:37 pm

   Do you know if I can buy 1c stocks at zecco without any additional fees?

   Im still looking for a good broker but will likely settle with Fidelity. They have a flat $7.95 fee and very prompt service.

2. chroma
   April 8th, 2010 @ 9:13 am

   Yes. That was, in fact, one of the very important questions I asked. Unlimited shares, no surcharge for penny stocks. So Far I like Zecco better than ChoiceTrade. Having traded with both accounts. The Zecco user interface is simply more intuitive. That is one of the reasons I liked TradeKing. I just wish they didn’t kill you on the penny stocks.

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