What would happen to my money if Zecco just filed bankruptcy one of these days?

Does anyone have any idea? Does Penson provide a guarantee on our assets?

 

Of course, this event seems highly improbable. But a few things make me wonder, specifically that they appear clearly understaffed (horrible customer service, slow design improvement), cutting costs, and constantly trying to reel more people in (low revenues?).

If they just up and belly up which I don't forsee anytime soon, you will be covered by the SIPC.  It is analgous to the FDIC program at banks.  Your money is insured in the event of any problems with Zecco's ability to cover our money.  I don't know the exact amount, but I am sure my tiny little account will be just fine. 

Dear otavio,

Your question makes sense. Please read through the "About Zecco" in the FAQ section,

zecco.com/trading/faq.aspx?tab=zecco

Also, you should consider the Full PDF report generated from the FINRA.org's broker check. Visit
www.finra.org/brokercheck

and in the search box, put ZECCO TRADING, INC. or just "ZECCO"

Besides, Zecco Trading or its clearing house, Penson, should deliver an annual financial disclosure of it financial strengths, required by the SEC (or some other Fed's agency) regulations.

Hope this will help you.

Plan9

That is a good question!

by the ay I have been with Zecco for a week now, and their customer service is award winning to me. I have felt like they really go the extra mile to take care of the customer! :)

Customer service has been great for me so far... 

Has anyone ever seen a NaN for there real time balance? What does this mean?

kutaone:

Customer service has been great for me so far... 

I've been a customer since July and a member for a year and I've been very impressed. It is a great company. While early adopters tended to not like the service, it seems that Zecco is a great broker for the majority of sensibles; those that use fundamental analysis as a method of investing. I think tools are over-rated as you can hop on Yahoo Finance, SmartMoney, and Morningstar to get all what you need besides Motley Fool, TheStreet.com, and Forbes. Those provide more than enough information. Lastly, don't be afraid to check out the 10Ks and the conference calls as this can provide critical information.


SIPC provides protection. Now if every broker went bankrupt, it is unlikely that SIPC would succeed. It's been tested with FDIC, but neither the NCUA nor SIPC have been tested to withstand a major backlash from bankrupt financial institutions. This is especially true when the Llyods of London kicks in when brokers insure above the $500,000 level.

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Aqua

Good info, thanks guys. Definitely reassuring :)

As for the customer service, I guess I will give them a third chance before I completely lose faith... 2 hours on hold today and no answer, left a message and no return. But judging by everyone's reaction I guess I'm one of the few, I really hope so!

otavio:

Good info, thanks guys. Definitely reassuring :)

As for the customer service, I guess I will give them a third chance before I completely lose faith... 2 hours on hold today and no answer, left a message and no return. But judging by everyone's reaction I guess I'm one of the few, I really hope so!

You probably were calling them after their business hours.  Their phone system doesn't really know about their business hours.  It would be nice if Zecco can program their phone with a friendly message saying that "please call back during business hour" or something.

otavio:

Good info, thanks guys. Definitely reassuring :)

As for the customer service, I guess I will give them a third chance before I completely lose faith... 2 hours on hold today and no answer, left a message and no return. But judging by everyone's reaction I guess I'm one of the few, I really hope so!

Everyone should check out any company that they are considering doing business with in the US or Canada, with the Better Business Bureau.   "The BBB gives Zecco a CC Average rating. They would expect consumer transactions to be satisfactory."

Zecco is a member of the Better Business Bureau and that is also a good thing.  Not all brokers are members:

"Zecco is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has agreed to uphold our membership standards, which include a commitment to act in accordance with ethical business practices and to respond to customer complaints."

As I already posted in a couple other posts, I registered for a Zecco account this past Saturday.  Tuesday morning a very nice Zecco Service Representative called me on the phone to ask if I had any questions and explained the upcoming steps to complete my ACH request - Less than 48 hours for a service rep to contact me is excellent service in my book.  The next day, Wednesday, I received an email explaining that the 2 small deposits have been made to my bank account and how to enter the information into the Zecco site for final processing.  This is quicker than how long the process took to open my ShareBuilder account. 

I am very satisfied with the way Zecco has been treating me.  Remember that Zecco is not supposed to have much in the way of fancy charts and other things.  It's all a part of how they don't have to charge us large fees like other online brokers do.  There are free sites out there that have fancy charts and other info which I will use.

otavio:

Good info, thanks guys. Definitely reassuring :)

As for the customer service, I guess I will give them a third chance before I completely lose faith... 2 hours on hold today and no answer, left a message and no return. But judging by everyone's reaction I guess I'm one of the few, I really hope so!

Remember that yesterday was an extremely busy day as people were panicking out of the market for the 2nd straight day. After about 5 minutes on hold, I always try back at a different time. That way, I don't become frustrated. Zecco has improved greatly now including an "800" number for those in other regions than Ontario, CA, but it is a no-frills broker.

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Aqua