Understanding and Improving Auctions

One of the main differences of Zions Direct, when compared to most other brokerages, is our focus on fixed-income products. Part of this is apparent in our Bonds for Less offering: a large selection, low commission fees, and institutional pricing (which allows retail customers to get the same pricing that large organizations get when buying bonds).

The other major part of the Zions Direct approach is our auction platform. Zions Direct Auctions is an innovative tool that allows regular individuals to help price the offered securities alongside institutions, and each bidder, big or small, can purchase each fixed-income product at the same price—a welcome change toward transparency and accessibility in an often confusing financial system.

Over the last three years, we have had great success with this approach, completing over 600 auctions and selling more than half a billion dollars in securities. Additionally, starting this week, we will be enhancing the service by adding email updates for every auction participant. This will allow them to easily monitor when they are outbid and when their securities mature. In this way, Zions Direct is continuing to level the playing field for investors.

*Artwork created by kaioshin at Flickr.com under creative commons.