Feb 11, 2009
Zecco Isn't Free, Well Not Really
I always wondered how Zecco
would sustain their business model of free stock trades during this economic climate. Turns out that they couldn’t:
I’m writing to tell you that as of March 1st, 2009, we’re increasing the minimum level of assets needed to earn 10 free trades per month to $25,000. We’re also adding a new way to get free trades: customers who make at least 25 total trades per month will also qualify for 10 free stock trades per month.
Their explanation:
Why was this necessary now? Anyone who’s read a newspaper lately knows that the US and world economies have been hit hard over the past 4 months. As a result, some of the largest corporations in the world have had to cut costs and adjust to new business realities. With reduced retail trading volumes and lower interest rates, we at Zecco Trading simply could no longer provide free trades to as many people as we would like.