Zacks Trade Review 2025

Is Zacks Trade regulated?

Yes, Zacks Trade is a division of LBMZ Securities, which is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Clearing and execution services for LBMZ Securities are provided through Interactive Brokers, a global stockbroker regulated by many top-tier financial authorities around the world.

Is Zacks Trade safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background of the broker.

How you are protected

All accounts at Zacks Trade are served by a US-regulated legal entity. This matters because you are covered by the US investor protection scheme, provided by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
SIPC investor protection protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. A non-US citizen with Zacks Trade is treated by the SIPC the same as a US resident in case something goes wrong. The protection amount is substantially higher than what is covered by most European investor protection schemes.
On the other hand, Zacks Trade does not provide negative balance protection. If the balance on your account goes into negative, you will not be protected.

Our brokerage experts put together a comprehensive guide on the safety profile of Zacks Trade.

Background

Zacks Trade is a division of LBMZ Securities, which was established in 1978. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
Being in operation for a long time, offering high investor protection and being regulated by top-tier authorities are all great signs for Zacks Trade's safety.

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Account base currencies

At Zacks Trade, you can choose from the following 20 base currencies:

Zacks Trade offers a great base currency selection when compared to its closest competitors.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you won't have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

Zacks Trade charges no deposit fees.

However, deposit options are limited for most customers, as neither bank cards nor electronic wallets can be used.

One popular deposit option can be wire transfer, which is available for both international and US customers. Wire transfers usually take one day in the US and up to 5 days for international transfers.

You can also transfer accounts from your previous broker using the ACAT (Automated Client Account Transfer) service.

Due to US regulations, US citizens cannot use credit cards to fund their brokerage accounts. They can only use debit cards, where available.

Here's all you need to know about minimum deposit requirements and depositing money at Zacks Trade.

A bank transfer can take several business days. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

If you reside in the US, you have multiple extra options, such as:

• ACH (Automated Clearing House)
• Check
• Online bill payment
• Direct Rollover (IRA accounts only)
• Trustee-to-Trustee (IRA accounts only)

Zacks Trade withdrawal fees and options

At Zacks Trade, the first withdrawal each month is free of charge. The fees for subsequent withdrawals depend on the currency and the method you use for withdrawal.

Read our guide containing all key info on available withdrawal methods and related fees at Zacks Trade.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

ACH and check withdrawal cost $1 and $4, respectively, while the fee for wire withdrawals depends on the currency, as shown in the table below.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Zacks Trade? We tested bank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

Non-US customers can use only wire transfers, while US clients can also use checks or ACH transfer in addition to wire transfers.

How do you withdraw money from Zacks Trade?

• First, log in to the Client Portal, then click 'Transfer & Pay' and 'Transfer funds'.
• Select the account you want to use for the transaction.
• At the top of the page, click the 'Withdraw Funds' tab.
• Select the currency of your withdrawal, then the withdrawal method.
• Fill in the required information.
• Submit your withdrawal request.
• You can see the status of your request in 'View Transaction History'.

Can you open an account?

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Zacks Trade is available in many countries around the world. There are some notable exceptions, though, including countries like Australia, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong, where clients can't open an account with Zacks Trade.

Read our separate article on how to get your account started with Zacks Trade.

What is the minimum deposit at Zacks Trade?

The required Zacks Trade minimum deposit is $250.

Zacks Trade recommends a minimum deposit of $2,500 for cash accounts, but this is not enforced and you are able to actually fund your account with less.
Be aware, though, that if your account balance is below $2,000, you're not eligible to use some features such as live market data or trading on margin.

Account types

Zacks Trade offers many account types, which fall into two big categories:

• accounts for individual traders and investors
• accounts for institutions

As an individual trader or investor, you can choose from many account types. A few of them, like an IRA account, are available only for US clients.

How to open your account

Zacks Trade's account opening is fully digital but overly complicated. For us, account verification took more than 1 week, which may have been affected by the volatile market environment at the time.
First you have to complete an online registration, which takes roughly an hour. We experienced a few bugs and errors throughout the process, for example, the system froze when we tried to upload our documents.
The 9 steps of Zacks Trade account opening:

1. Enter your name, email and phone number.
2. Choose an account type.
3. Confirm your email address.
4. Enter more personal details like your residency, address and phone number.
5. Confirm your employment status and income details.
6. Choose security questions.
7. State your trading/investment goals and experience.
8. Upload proof of identification and residency documents (these include copies of a passport, driver's license, residency permit, utility bills or national IDs).
9. Agree to disclosure and permission documents.

You can use Zacks Trade's mobile trading platform on both iOS and Android devices. In this review, we tested the iOS version of the mobile app.

The mobile trading platform is available in several languages.

Look and feel

The mobile trading app is handier compared with the web platform. Even so, its overall look and user-friendliness lag behind the mobile platforms of some competitors.

Login and security

Zacks Trade provides a safer, two-step login for its mobile platform.

You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Search functions

The search functions are OK.

You can access the search button easily from any menu. When you type in the product you are looking for, the app lists every asset type as shown in the picture below.
After you select the product are you interested in, you will be greeted by an information and trading window, which shows:

• Asset market information
• An interactive chart with technical indicators
• Related news
• Some fundamental data
• Summary of the latest analyst report
• The Buy and Sell buttons, which take you to the order panel

Placing orders

Zacks Trade provides many order types on the mobile trading platform.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Day
• Good till Canceled
• Outside Regular Trader Hours

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the Zacks Trade mobile platform.

Special feature – Chatbot

A chatbot called IBot is provided by Interactive Brokers (IB). You can use the chatbot to execute or close an order, or to get basic info quickly.

The chatbot understands basic commands, such as “Apple price” or “buy 1 Apple share”. On top of this, you can also search for company fundamentals, like dividend yields or P/E ratios. Some other functions, like displaying a chart, are also available via the chatbot.

Our analysts personally tested Zacks Trade's mobile trading platform; read the Zacks Trade mobile app review for a detailed verdict on its performance and features.

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Zacks Trade's desktop trading platform Zacks Trade Pro is provided by Interactive Brokers. It is so advanced that even a separate review would not be able to cover all of its features.

The system offers literally every feature you can think of, from attaching a delta hedge order to an options order to creating charts for synthetic securities.

There are many trading algos to choose from. One favorite, the ScaleTrader, originates from the notion of averaging down or buying into a weak, declining market at ever lower prices as it bottoms - or on the opposite side, selling into a rising market or scaling out of a long position.

The desktop trading platform is available in many languages.

Look and feel

This platform is very complex. It is ideal for you if you consider yourself a professional user. If you are a beginner or someone who seeks long-term investments, you may have difficulty navigating all of Zacks Trade Pro's features.
Keep in mind, however, that all the advanced features are optional. If you don't use them, you can easily use it just to place orders, even if you are an everyday investor.
Despite its complexity, the platform is highly customizable; for example, you can set up and save your own templates and create your own watchlists.

Login and security

Zacks Trade provides a two-step login.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

Search works better than in Zacks Trade's other platforms.

Placing orders

Zacks Trade provides a wide range of order types on the desktop trading platform.

Also, Zacks Trade provides a lot of order time limits.

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the desktop trading platform.

You can set alerts in the 'Configuration panel'. You can select email, SMS or mobile pop-up notifications.
You can also set additional alerts, such as for price changes, daily profits/losses, executed trades, etc.

Portfolio and fee reports

Zacks Trade has clear fee reports.

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Zacks Trade covers the same asset classes as most of its US competitors. Within its product range, Zacks Trade has an outstanding selection of stocks, ETFs and options, while its mutual fund and bond offering is average.

Zacks Trade's product selection is great compared to its closest competitors. Both TradeStation and Firstrade offer fewer stock markets to trade on.

Stocks and ETFs

Zacks Trade provides access to a significant number of global stock exchanges. This includes major stock markets like the NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), as well as smaller ones such as the Mexican Stock Exchange. Other than regular stocks, penny stocks are also available.
Besides stocks, you can also choose from many ETFs to trade. Zacks Trade has an extensive ETF selection compared with its competitors.

Zacks Trade provides access to exchanges in the following countries:

Funds

Zacks Trade offers a large number of mutual funds from the US but does not include international providers in its selection.

This selection is great compared to competing brokers. Both TradeStation and Firstrade offer fewer fund providers to choose from.

Bonds

Zacks Trade's bond selection covers US and European government and corporate bonds. Compared with most rival brokers, this offer is good but not outstanding.

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

Options

Zacks Trade provides options from US options markets.

This selection is great compared to competing brokers. Both TradeStation and Firstrade offer fewer option markets to trade on.

We recommend Zacks Trade for traders and investors looking for comprehensive research tools, a wide product selection and low fees.

Below you can find links to all aspects of Zacks Trade in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our Zacks Trade fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the Zacks Trade minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your Zacks Trade account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the Zacks Trade account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the Zacks Trade trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the Zacks Trade customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is Zacks Trade legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether Zacks Trade is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is Zacks Trade good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on Zacks Trade?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on Zacks Trade guide

I want to trade options, are they available at Zacks Trade?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on Zacks Trade?

What is the minimum account balance at Zacks Trade?

Check out the current account balance requirements at Zacks Trade in our What is the minimum account balance at Zacks Trade article.

Looking for commission and fees data for Zacks Trade?

We collected them in Zacks Trade commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from Zacks Trade?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on Zacks Trade.