Zecco

[Frank0051]

No, it really is a .005 cent min. per share, with a max. of .5% of the trade value. So if you are buying $2,500 worth of a stock trading at 1 cent, you would pay $125 based on the .005 cents per trade, but they cap you out at .5% of the trade's value ($2,500). So you are paying $12.50 in commission + the ECN fee is added up on top of that. So, you are paying something like $13 or more depending on ECN fees to trade a company. If that company is DTCC registered and fully reporting, it costs only $6.95 to trade on Zecco.

[Yosako]

Now, compare that to Zecco, which has maybe $500 million in assets and TradeKing which has $1.2 billion. The economies of scale aren't there. And, even if they were to reach the size of Interactive Brokers and do the stupid thing and self clear, their fees would shoot up and small account holders would flee. Just look at Interactive Brokers price sheet: 0.005 a share with a min. of $1 and a max of .05. So it can still get pricey, and those doesn't include the ECN fees, which they don't pay for you - so it gets even more expensive. And, they require $10,000.00 min. deposit. I bet there are some other hidden fees in there, but their website sucks.

Frank0051, you've read it wrong. The maximum isn't .05 per share, it's 0.5% of trade value, which is a whole different ball game.
For pennies the rates are capped at 0.5% of trade value with a $1 minimum, that is a penny stock trade worth $2000 would be just $10 a pop. Sounds like a deal don't you think?

[Frank0051]

Fidelity has over $1.5 trillion AUM.
TD Ameritrade has about $0.5 trillion in AUM.
E-Trade has total assets of $50 billion or so. Scotttrade is in a similar position.


Interactive Brokers has something like like $25 billion under management. But, most of its assets are outside of the US and they do global trading, so they do have an incentive to self-clear (if they do). They are probably the smallest of the bunch, but they do self-clearing by basically passing along all the costs to the customer - just like they would if Penson was their clearing house.

Now, compare that to Zecco, which has maybe $500 million in assets and TradeKing which has $1.2 billion. The economies of scale aren't there. And, even if they were to reach the size of Interactive Brokers and do the stupid thing and self clear, their fees would shoot up and small account holders would flee. Just look at Interactive Brokers price sheet: 0.005 a share with a min. of $1 and a max of .05. So it can still get pricey, and those doesn't include the ECN fees, which they don't pay for you - so it gets even more expensive. And, they require $10,000.00 min. deposit. I bet there are some other hidden fees in there, but their website sucks.

[Yosako]

I meant typical penny stock friendly firms.

Etrade is self-clearing
Scottrade is self-clearing
Fidelity is self-clearing
Interactive Brokers is self-clearing
TD Ameritrade is self-clearing

[Frank0051]

The big firms like JP Morgan, RBC, Bank of New York Mellon, etc. use subsidary clearing firms but there are huge firewalls and regulatory restrictions on interactions. Those companies are able to formulate their own clearing houses because they do trillions in asset trades across the globe.

Companies like Zecco and TradeKing and many of the other discount brokers don't have the volume to do so, and the cost to set up an subsidary with duplicative management and staff would be prohibitive. It's simple economies of scale at work.

[Yosako]

Nearly all the big firms self-clear through a subsidiary. And of course it would be cheaper to do so; Penson is a for-profit business, not a charity.

[Frank0051]

I'm sure there are regulations about whether a brokerage house can also being a clearing house. Plus, even if it were possible regulatorily, I doubt it would make much sense financially.

[Yosako]

And with such petty politics do they want to "compete with the big five"?
Can't they clear pennies through another clearing firm, or self clear penny trades? Their combined size would be enough IMO.

[Frank0051]

Dude, they use the same clearing house - they have experienced the same problems. And, TradeKing has LONG been passing along the penny fees that it doesn't really have any penny traders: radeKing charges something like 4.95 + (.01 cents times number of shares) for anything trading below $2, so penny traders aren't with them anyways.

[atotalbum]

yea feel bad for tradeking im betting they have no idea what they are getting into, especially their customers. guessing zecco was so desperate to stay in business they ended up giving up a lot or why do this at all. guessing ceo is fired and let go also hes beyond pathetic. basically zecco is dumping all their garbage on tradeking and its a ton of garbage..

just me guessing whats goin on, never know..my conjucture..good luck tradeking lol

[Farmboynate]

and they will most likely mess up customers account like they did when they messed with account numbers and then getting us tax papers way later then normal

[Mikey]

its like a same sex marriage of 2 eunuchs................neither one of em have any balls

[sidedraft]

I got this message from Zecco this morning:

We’re delighted to share the news that Zecco and TradeKing have agreed to join forces and merge their businesses. It’s a strategic move we firmly believe will offer you great near and long-term benefits as a self-directed investor

Big deal, they both clear through Penson!

[Farmboynate]

the DTC is crooked I wouldn't doubt they are behind short selling stocks they add to this NON DTC list just dunno how you would prove it if you could the DTC could get in a lot of trouble either way they are crooked and have cost investors and companies billions of dollars

[Mango]

see this post!

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=75257155

[Frank0051]

You mechanic isn't operating in a regulated industry in most cases, these brokers are. You get what you pay for. You chose a cut-rate broker which clearly states in their policy that they reserve the right to pass along cost increases. The DTCC leaned on Penson to to charge these fees on the SELLING of unregistered, low volume securities. Seeing how you chose to trade with a low-rate broker, which also happens to have poor customer service, you weren't informed of the regulatory changes going on - but that's doesn't exclude you from having to pay said fees.

The simple fact is you chose a cut-rate broker. The burden is always on the traders to know the regulatory fulls. If you had chosen an actual full-feature broker, your broker likely would have done a better job communicating the regulatory changes to you - although it is not their responsibility. FINRA and the SEC clearly state the trader needs to stay abreast of changes. That's what you get for choosing a shitty broker - you shifted the burden of staying informed to yourself in lieu of low fees.

The only thing i see is you whining because you chose a broker that provides low customer service satification, instead of full-feature firm which could have helped you stay informed of the changes occurring in the market.

[Mango]

NO fraud was perpetrated? One can do the same trade through many other brokers at less then $10, but Zecco claims they will charge $700 (often only after the fact). You may be the only one on this planet that feels that is an honest and above board way of doing business.

You call three nearby shops and they all tell you they can rotate your tires for $10. So you bring your car into the most convenient shop to have your tires rotated, but upon completion of the task your chosen shop now claims you have to fork out $700 and refuses to release your car to until you pay them that amount.

Meanwhile your neighbor did the same thing, except he choose a different shop. His bill is exactly what he was told, $10. He pays his bill and drives off in his car.

And you don't see any fraud?

[Frank0051]

Arrogant - "an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions".

Really? It seems that you fit that definition more than anyone else when you go around claiming that something is a scam when all the facts point to them engaging in a legal business. Scam is define as perpetrating fraud. Best I can tell, no fraud was peretrated here - rather the regulatory landscape was changed and there were some losers that got hurt by that. Zecco failed to communicate those changes properly and failed its customers in that way - to claim that anything else happened (for instance fraud) is nothing more than arrogance and ignorance on your part.

[Mango]

Yes, that's a problem. I have seen others post they found a broker to accept their penny stock transfer, and it wasn't one of the more common brokers like you mentioned trying. But I can't remember the brokers name. Maybe scan through the posts and see if you can find a broker others were able to get their stock transferred into.

I'm going to take a WAG and say it likely depends on the size of your account and what the penny stock(s) to be transferred are.

Sorry I can't be of more help and good luck to you.

[Mango]

Arrogant - "an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions".

Please note the phrase "presumptuous claims or assumptions" in the above definition.

Frankly (no pun intended), I'm a fairly private person. Not the type to go around bragging about anything. Please do not assume no action has been taken just because you didn't see a breaking news alert on CNBC, lol. Proper action requires ample DD that may take some time.

How is it arrogant? You haven't filed a FINRA complaint, because guess what: it's public record. And, your complaint hasn't shown up in the online complaint system yet. So, either your filed your complaint in the last couple of days and it hasn't been reviewed or it was tossed out or you simply haven't filed. You're right, I don't know if you have filed a suit, but I imagine we would hear about it eventually.

The truth of the matter is you are whining because you were duped. If you were scammed - which means something illegal happened - you would be bragging about how you have filed a complaint or how you were going to sue. You would want us all to know. But, of course, you haven't done anything because all you are is a whiner that was duped because you didn't read your customer agreement and weren't aware of the regulatory changes going on in the industry.

[Frank0051]

How is it arrogant? You haven't filed a FINRA complaint, because guess what: it's public record. And, your complaint hasn't shown up in the online complaint system yet. So, either your filed your complaint in the last couple of days and it hasn't been reviewed or it was tossed out or you simply haven't filed. You're right, I don't know if you have filed a suit, but I imagine we would hear about it eventually.

The truth of the matter is you are whining because you were duped. If you were scammed - which means something illegal happened - you would be bragging about how you have filed a complaint or how you were going to sue. You would want us all to know. But, of course, you haven't done anything because all you are is a whiner that was duped because you didn't read your customer agreement and weren't aware of the regulatory changes going on in the industry.

[smcbid]

Hi, do you know which broker accept penny stock transfer?
Fidelity and e-trade deny my transfer.

[Mango]

Well let's just do away with all judges and jurists then, shall we! According to you there is no need for them.

Once again you are professing to know what I have done, or what I haven't done. That is pure arrogance, because you haven't the slightest clue what I have done, or may do, or both, lol.

Well, if the regulators are in on it, then it's legal, so by definition, it cannot be a scam, now can it? Financial Scams requires the action to be illegal.

As far as why I would want to make the bet: I want you whining to either put up or shut up. You come on these boards for months on end complaining that you've been scammed but don't do anything about it. That's what the courts and FINRA and the SEC are for: you can file complaints. But, instead you whine. The simple fact is the only people duped were yourselves, and you only have yourselves to blame because you traded unregistered securities knowing full well that you could lose everything.

[Frank0051]

Well, if the regulators are in on it, then it's legal, so by definition, it cannot be a scam, now can it? Financial Scams requires the action to be illegal.

As far as why I would want to make the bet: I want you whining to either put up or shut up. You come on these boards for months on end complaining that you've been scammed but don't do anything about it. That's what the courts and FINRA and the SEC are for: you can file complaints. But, instead you whine. The simple fact is the only people duped were yourselves, and you only have yourselves to blame because you traded unregistered securities knowing full well that you could lose everything.

[Mango]

Why would I make a bet with someone I don't know, about something I have no control over? For all I know you work for FINRA, or the SEC, or Zecco, or Penson, and are in on their SCAM.

I would rather put my $2000 into the market, where as long as it's not going through a corrupt broker like Zecco, I have a great chance of making money from it.

[Frank0051]

Actually, I can check and see if a complaint has been validated by using FINRA's website: http://disciplinaryactions.finra.org/search.aspx. Of course I won't be able to see if your complaint is filed (since most filed complaints are rejected), that's why you would post confirmation that you filed the complaint - duh - that's how a bet works. Once you post it, we'll exchange e-mail addresses, I'll draft up an agreement, and I'll sign my real name to an agreement that we'll owe each of $2,000 depending on the outcome.

As far as checking - all I have to do is look at the FINRA Broker Check website: http://brokercheck.finra.org/Firm/FirmSummary.aspx?SearchGroup=Firm&FirmKey=135398&BrokerKey=-1&IndvlBCCtgry=-1&IndvlIACtgry=-1 or the Disciplinary Action website (http://disciplinaryactions.finra.org/search.aspx) and then look at the detailed report. And, seeing how the last regulatory action against them was in the beginning of 2009 then it pretty clear to see no one's complaints (if anyone has actually filed a complaint on this matter) has gone forward.

Regulatory complaints usually get validated within a couple days or weeks. Seeing how this issue has been going on since Sept, it's pretty clear that no one has filed a valid complaint.

Your move.

[Mango]

1. You have no way of knowing whether I've already sent a complaint, or will send a complaint in the future, lol.

2. You also have no way of knowing whether any complaint sent by me or anyone else was "tossed out", lol.

LMAO

Here is the FINRA complaint form right here: http://www.finra.org/Investors/ProtectYourself/p118628

Fill it out. I'll bet you $2,000 that your complaint will be tossed out. Of course, you won't file the complaint, but I figured It would put it out there.

[Frank0051]

Here is the FINRA complaint form right here: http://www.finra.org/Investors/ProtectYourself/p118628

Fill it out. I'll bet you $2,000 that your complaint will be tossed out. Of course, you won't file the complaint, but I figured It would put it out there.

[Mango]

Zecco is known to SCAM their own clients for hundreds of dollars!

If you're considering a broker, do NOT choose Zecco.

If you are using Zecco, then drop them before they scam you out of your money, because sooner or later they will.

[PennyNK]

I'm trying at Scottrade but you know what, I figured that it be best to buy some of the same stock in Scottrade THEN transfer your old ones to add on and some of the extra and if you can don't transfer all of them at one time. I've a couple of dead ones that I'll leave Zecco as a crap gift. This is going to be my strategy. GLTU

PennyNK

[Frank0051]

People, for many of these brokers - the ones that aren't just blanket rejecting penny stocks anyways - the type of penny is going to matter: is it DTCC restricted or not, is it registered or not, etc. When asking, post the penny stocks you are holding others can get a better idea of what may be rejected.

[Drachious]

Yup only at Zecco i am with choicetrade now and i have no problem with them

[smcbid]

Hi, PennyNK
Is Scottrade accept penny stock transfer?
Tried to transfer my penny stock from Zecco to Etrade last year, but got rejected, then tried Fidelity with the same problem till now, Do you find any brokerage can do penny stock account transfer?
thanks

[sidedraft]

Fidelity is far better than Zecco, or Scottrade for that matter.

[PennyNK]

I'm leaving Zecco fast. Tried to transfer (mostly pennies) some Ford though and AMEX stuff to Etrade and they didn't want the pennies. I cut them loose before I even started!!

Trying Scottrade since word has it they fine w/pennies despite the 9.95 fee. Ouch! But that's okay, I'm getting quite selective with my pennies and better at my profits ... Gonna be tough for flipping however, especially at the start if I make that move.

PennyNK

[Flobewan]

Same here

[johnet]

I received a revised 1099 from Zecoo YESTERDAY, April 20. I'm posting this in case anyone comes to this board thinking of signing up with Zecco.

[Frank0051]

How many times does this have to be said: don't buy stocks without doing DD. You bought a stock that is not registered and hasn't reported to the SEC in over 5 years. Furthermore, it is marked as a caveat emptor.

Penson is the largest clearing house for unregistered pennies; the SEC, FINRA, and DTCC don't like the fraud going on in unregistered pennies, so they are leaning on Penson. Penson is passing along all those costs to all brokers; and all brokers using Penson are going to pass their costs along to the consumer. The answer is simple: don't be silly and don't trade unregistered securities.

Just do your DD. You can trade all the registered stocks you want - including pennies - and Zecco wasn't going to hurt you. I whined and complained when the rules first came out because Zecco applied them incorrectly (particularly the ADV) and it impacted registered pennies, but that was fixed within the first week or two. So, just don't be stupid and don't trade unregistered, non-DTCC stocks, or caveat emptors. Why you would want to trade those type of crappy symbols is a mystery in the first place - anyone that does is just asking to be scammed.

[sidedraft]

I just ended a chat session with Zecco:

====================================================
A Zecco sucker: Is there any possibility that I could get hit with some very expensive, unexpected, extra fee, if I sell my shares of BCND?

Mark S.: I can certainly assist you with this. Please give me a moment to research this request for you.

Mark S.: At this time, I do not see it on the list, but at any time the stock can be non-DTC eligible. Unfortunately, we can not guarantee that fees will not be fully charged until the trade has been settled. These are the risks associated with trading penny stocks.

A Zecco sucker: Thanks, BYE
=====================================================

Zecco thinks that trading pennies with them is how the rest of the brokers treat "customers" - - NOT

[Billybob_TX]

My 1099 from Zecco is all screwed up and they won't have it corrected till after the tax deadline tomorrow. Dump this broker ASAP, I did last year and they still haunt me.

[Drachious]

Zecco sucks LOL

[johnet]

Zecco's site doesn't provide statements older than 13 months. How crappy is that? I just need the information on one stock I bought in late 2010. Now I have to dig through all of my paperwork to find it.

[sidedraft]

Trying to download a 1099-B from Penson in TTAX?

I finally found the correct numbers to put in for UserID/password for Penson when using TurboTax.

On the 1099-B I printed from the Zecco website, the account number at the top middle is your UserID, BUT, it must preceded by "10-", not "07-".
Password is SS#, without dashes.

Maybe I'm the last to know this, but just in case I'm not, I thought I might pass this along.

[Frank0051]

I'm not defending this garbage broker: I'm pointing out that you are barking up the wrong tree if you traded an unregistered security. Zecco is passing on the costs they received from their clearing house, which has decided to follow the SEC and FINRA guidance on restricting trade on unregistered securities.

Post your securities and we can see if you were unfairly targeted or not. I just love how everyone complains here, yet the few of said complainers that have posted their securities were trading unregistered ones like dumbies. Don't get me wrong, I have no lovelost for Zecco: I'm banned from posting on both the Zecco trading community (when you log into Zecco) and the Zecco Facebook page because of that a*&hat Zecco Editor.

[atotalbum]

who cares if they let you buy something for regular commissions then 2 days later restrict it and charge 700 bux its total BS..and yea that happened to me..you defending this garbage broker?

jmho

[Frank0051]

Inquiring minds would like to know. Until you post it, the rest of us just have to assume you were trading unregistered securities just like the rest of the people that have complained here about having their stocks restricted. You were the one that claimed you weren't, so please share the symbol.

[Majic]

Not important anymore. I'm dumping Zecco.

[Frank0051]

So, not posting the symbol?

[Frank0051]

Post the stock symbol, I would be interested in learning about this. I have yet to see anyone here post an SEC registered and fully reporting company that has been restricted for anything other than ADV (and that was me when they first rolled out the policy). Since that ADV hasn't been a problem for SEC registered stocks.

[Frank0051]

Just a point of clarity, the ADV limit is no longer enforced (hasn't been for months as for as I'm aware) on SEC registered penny stocks. So, I no longer have any gripes with Zecco's trading policies. Rather, my gripes remain with their customer communication policies. I actually spoke to the CEO's assistant about this issue; that's what spurred the CEO's letter that was issued.