Robinhood Markets, Inc. is an American financial services company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Its mobile application facilitates commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. The company launched a mobile app in March 2015.
In addition to the online trading platform, Robinhood offers other services to its customers, including money management tips and an email newsletter. Though the company bills itself as free, it does charge various fees. Some of these are passed on to the customers through third-party fees. These fees can be avoided, however. Robinhood is SEC registered as a broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
For investors who don’t want to spend money on a brokerage account, Robinhood offers stock research and recommendations, including a “people also bought” list. You can also see company bios and compare prices. Robinhood lists are similar to stock screeners, including current prices and market cap size. To access Morningstar research reports, you must pay an extra fee or subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Other comparable brokerages offer seven free reports.
One drawback of Robinhood is that it only allows users to invest in a single share. The company charges commissions, so new investors may be hesitant to use this service. It also discourages day trading, which rarely produces profits and is not a long-term strategy. However, it is possible to invest in single stocks and trade in the cheapest way, thanks to its easy-to-use mobile app. But beware of day traders who try to game the system.
