Zecco

Take no more than a quick look at Zecco and you’ll see that this company is more than a Forex brokerage – it’s a well-rounded investment house that offers Forex trading as well as a full US-stock market and mutual bond trading platform. For the purposes of this Zecco review, of course, we’ll be focusing entirely on the company’s Forex arm, which play second-fiddle to the stock service, despite the fact that it’s still a first-rate Forex trading platform. 

Zecco is a US Forex broker that is a member of the NFA. Consequently, the company’s leverage is limited to 50:1, a restriction that can be simultaneously helpful and frustrating for traders. On one hand, it truly limits the risk of loss, but it also restricts potential gains, which may frustrate internationally-based Forex traders. 

A short overview of Zecco trading will quickly reveal support for Stocks, ETFs, Options, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Metals, and last but not least, Forex. Being that this is primarily a Forex site, this Zecco review will focus mainly on the Zecco trading Forex offering.

Ease of Use

Before we discuss the technical and advanced Forex trading features offered by Zecco, let’s talk about the website first. The site is pleasant on the eyes, easy to use, and extremely informative.

Zecco trading can definitely cater to both new traders and experienced ones. New traders will have access to a very resourceful Forex education section on Zecco.com. Of course, the new trader will have to use other sites as well but the Zecco education section is a very nice start. It includes information on topics such as quotes, leverage, margin, as well as calculating Forex profits and losses.

New traders also have the option of putting their trading skills to the test with a free practice account. This account will provide the trader with access to the Zecco Forex trading platform (more on that to follow), $50,000 in virtual currency to trade with, up to 50:1 trading leverage, which is relatively low but prevents irresponsible Forex trading, real time quotes with 29 pairs, 24/6 support by phone or chat, as well as many other options.

Trading Platforms

Experienced traders will surely benefit from the flexible trading offered by Zecco, which starts with the ability to trade on a desktop client or on a Web-based trading platform. Both platforms are among the most advanced we have seen and the choice is completely personal and depends solely on the trader’s preference.

The desktop client a.k.a the Zecco Forex Trader Desktop enables the trader to choose from predefined layouts or to create and save personal layouts. The native platform also support take profits and stop losses based on rate, pips or dollar profit and loss. In addition, you can configure audible trade alerts in the desktop client. The one downside I found with this platform is that it supports Windows XP or Vista exclusively, no Mac OS and no Windows 7.

The other option is the Zecco Forex Trader Web, which operates in a Web browser and requires no download. The obvious advantage is the ability to trade from any Web enabled computer, irrelevant of operating system or location. Some of the features include real time Zecco trading account information, full integration of an advanced charting tool, and multilingual support. The major disadvantage is that the fastest growing browser Chrome is not supported and this platform only runs on Internet Explorer 6 or higher, Firefox, and Safari.  In an update of this Zecco review at the end of 2011, we were happy to see that the new Zecco Trading Center offers multiple types of conditional orders, including OCO (one-cancels-others), and OTO (one-triggers-others).  The new Trading Center also offers real-time market updates and charts to help traders stay knowledgeable about the market and where it's headed.

Account Types

In addition to the platforms, Zecco has two account options for traders, the Standard account and Mini account. The Standard account requires a minimum deposit of $2,500 and supports a leverage of 50:1, which as I mentioned above is relatively low but something I am willing to live with since it decreases risk significantly.

The Mini account also works with a 50:1 leverage but enables you to start trading with as little as a $250 minimum deposit, which means you can trade up to $10,000.

Depending on your initial deposit, you get some of the tightest spreads on the market when trading with Zecco. Spreads, which is how Zecco makes its money since there are no trading commissions, start at 1-2 pips and if you deposit more than $10,000 you can benefit from the Zecco Forex Pro account, which has spreads of around 1 pip for the majors.

Transfer of Funds

Depositing and withdrawing funds from Zecco is also pretty straightforward with support for checks, wire transfers, transferring funds from another broker, or linking your bank account to your trading account. Based on what I was told by Zecco, there is no support for credit cards o

Paypal, which strikes me as a little strange to say the least. There is a lot more to Zecco than what is mentioned in this Zecco review but we wanted to give you an overview of the Zecco Forex trading experience itself, and not everything offered by the industry giant.  Still, we're pleased to see that Zecco is constantly improving its Forex section, and we look forward to seeing what they offer next time we update our Zecco review.  

Final Thoughts

With the exception of a few minor down sides, Zecco definitely deserves the reputation it has in the industry. Based on our Zecco review, it is a market leader and a broker you can trade Forex with and know your hard earned money is safe and secure.

Because Zecco isn’t a designated Forex broker as some other US Forex brokers are, we found that its service was sufficient, but perhaps not the best it could be if it focused all its energies on Forex. Still, with reasonable trading conditions, a decent Forex education center and the backing of the NFA, Zecco could be a good option for some Forex traders.