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Robinhood started out as an innovative disruptor in the brokerage industry and its brand has since grown to be very popular with tech-savvy investors and new traders, thanks to a no-fee model and sleek, easy-to-use trading experience. Originally, the company’s biggest differentiator was fee-free trading; however, many competitors have since lowered their fees in response. Users can easily trade stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies on the platform, but it lacks more sophisticated financial tools, asset categories, and research capabilities that advanced traders look for in a broker. While there has been a clear focus on improving access to a growing library of educational content and enhancing basic charting capabilities, there is still much work to be done before the platform reaches standards being set across an increasingly competitive landscape. We’ll explore Robinhood in more detail so you can determine if the platform makes sense for you.
Pros
- Very simple, intuitive trading experience
- No trading fees or commissions
- Fractional share trading and direct cryptocurrency access
- Solid cash management features and recurring investment functionality
Cons
- Limited investment offerings and account types
- Limited research and educational content
- Lack of transparency
Robinhood
Usability Robinhood’s app is very simple and user-friendly. Robinhood’s mobile-first approach to their trading experience makes it an easy choice for investors who prefer to trade from their phone. The web-based platform has a similar look and feel to the app. Traders will find the same types of orders, assets, and functionality from either version. The main menu is easy to navigate, with intuitive screens that let investors easily see their portfolio value and positions. The search functionality gives traders a good overview of a stock’s details, such as highs and lows, P/E ratio, and market capitalization. A news feed and composite of analysts’ rankings gives traders even more insight into a company profile. As you’re looking through a stock’s information, the “Trade” icon follows you as you scroll, allowing you to buy or sell just as soon as you’ve made a decision. Notably, Robinhood rolled out improvements to its charting functionality in August 2022, much to the delight of traders who have long requested changes. 5 New chart features such as moving averages let traders better visualize and analyze stock trends to make more informed investment decisions. Overall, the trading experience itself is excellent. However, there are still some limitations to how much you can customize the experience, as there’s not much you can do to further tailor the app to your preferences. The user-friendliness of the app is dampened, however, by the platform’s significant outages in February and March of 2020, which still linger in many traders' minds. 6 Trade Experience Robinhood’s trading experience is fast and easy to use, appealing to new investors in particular as it allows them to get up and running quickly. The sleek mobile app has a straightforward design that lets traders seamlessly enter, exit, and monitor positions. Robinhood’s focus on a simple functionally makes the platform more geared towards investors using uncomplicated strategies, regardless of experience level. Robinhood users get access to basic watch lists and stock quotes paired with charts, analyst ratings, and news. The improved chart overlays give investors a more comprehensive look into stocks and their positions. Beyond this, there’s not much in the way of in-depth insights and customization ability. Sophisticated traders will likely not find all they need to execute more complex trading approaches, even with the improvements to charting functionality. Mobile Trade Experience Robinhood is a mobile-first brokerage that aims to make trading simple, without complicating the experience with more in-depth features. It makes sense then that more complex trading tools and research options are largely absent from the mobile trade experience. For instance, no chart drawing tools are available on mobile and trades can’t be executed directly from charts. Order staging and simultaneous order entry options are also not available. More basic order types, like trailing stop orders and stop limit orders, are about the extent of what you’ll get through the app. Advanced traders will notice that conditional orders aren’t supported. That said, quotes from the Robinhood app do at least stream in real-time. 1Range of Offerings Robinhood’s range of offerings is extremely limited in that it only offers stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency trading. Robinhood doesn’t support mutual funds or fixed income products and you can’t trade commodities, forex, or futures. If you choose Robinhood as your broker, you can invest in: Stocks, long only. No short selling. Over 300 new American Depository Receipts (ADRs) were introduced in July, 2022. 7 Stocks worth over $1.00 per share with a market capitalization over $25,000,000 are eligible for fractional share orders. The broker offers both stocks and ETFs. 8 Single and multi-leg options Cryptocurrency: A range of coins are available to trade. As mentioned, no mutual funds, no fixed income, no futures, no forex, and no futures options. Non-Custodial Wallets: Robinhood is building a web3 wallet that allows customers to control crypto in a seamless, decentralized web experience. Currently, a waitlist-only option. 9 Stock-Lending: Announced in May of 2022, Robinhood users can lend out fully-paid stocks in their portfolio. 10 Order Types Robinhood has a limited number of available order types. A range of market and limit orders are offered, but no conditional orders are supported. Order staging is also absent. These limitations affect all types of investors since it meaningfully restricts trading strategies. Support for more sophisticated order types, like order-triggers-other (OTO) is important because they help traders navigate risk, quickly enter and exit positions, and take gains off the table. As a result, traders using conditional orders can spend more time analyzing the market and looking for their next move without having to watch current trades as closely. This is another sign that Robinhood isn’t meant for active traders. As far as tax optimization, tax lots are defaulted to first-in, first-out (FIFO) for all equities. You can change the default cost-basis method for your account or specify different tax lots for liquidation by contacting Robinhood customer support. Trading Technology The way a broker routes your order determines whether you are likely to receive the best possible price at the time your trade is placed. This best price is known as price improvement. Robinhood states that their trading systems are set up to automatically route your order to the market-maker most likely to give you the best price, based on historical performance. Robinhood reports that 95.53% of orders are executed at National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) or better. The average price improvement is $0.0193 per share on stocks, but the company doesn’t report figures for options. 11 In terms of other trading technology, Robinhood gives you the ability to make recurring investments, which is a helpful feature. In keeping with its simplified approach to investing, Robinhood doesn’t allow you to perform backtests or offer a demo account. Costs Similar to most of its competitors, Robinhood does not charge trading fees. There are some other fees unrelated to trading that are listed below. All equity trades (stocks and ETFs) are commission free. No fees for options trades Trading on margin requires a Robinhood Gold subscription at $5 per month, which includes $1,000 of margin. Margin usage above $1,000 is charged 5.75% for Robinhood Gold members and 9% for non-Robinhood Gold members. There is a $100 account transfer out fee There are no domestic or international wire fees. There are no account opening, account maintenance or account inactivity fees. Check fees: $20 to send a domestic check overnight.
My experience with Robinhood today was the worst business experience I have ever had. I wanted to sell a call and Robinhood had put a setting on my account so I couldnt sell consequently I lost over $140. Panicking I tried to contact Robinhood with no response for almist an hpur with was ny email, they have no phone number you can use. Basically they just said there was no problem on their end after I emailed them about 20 times! They do NOT have their customers best interest as a priority at all and I would suggest using another trading platform, any other trading platform if you wish to protect your investments.
Robinhood either approves your account immediately, or tells you through messages/emails to upload your bank statements or utility bills, over and over again with no end for weeks, neither approving your application or denying it. Efforts to speak with someone or asking for a return email never happens; they only respond that they need an upload of those documents as thought they don’t have many uploaded copies already. They are discriminating based on financial class and avoiding the issue by keeping your status in limbo. There is no phone contact, no live person to communicate with, and no person of record to serve or a legal department via the web. No one will answer your questions and no one will get back to you. BUYER BEWARE!
Robinhood protects their hedge fund buddies by limiting the purchasing of shares. They are the opposite of Robinhood. They steal from the poor and give to the rich.
NEVER USE THIS COMPANY!
Robinhood caballing with BIG$, bros on WS, hedgefund cronies. BLOCKING GME trades for “your protection”
Dont use their app. By doing so you are risking every penny of what you put in their app. I lost my entire lives savings and they did nothing, and forced me to email them over 50 times to hear back from them. The only way to contact them in case of emergency is through freaking emails. And their customer support is not only the worst of all other brokerages. But i kid you not, its the worst of any company i have ever seen ever period. I lost over 6 thousand dollars. Sent over 50 emails freaking out. I didnt hear back from them for over TWO WEEKS. I WAS IN THE DARK WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT MY ENTIRE LIVES SAVINGS FOR TWO WEEKS. And the email that they finally responded to me with. Was the tipping point. Not only did they not help me, they didnt even care. And then they didnt even tell me what happened. It’s unacceptable that a company this rich could be allowed to operate. Its completely fraudulent. Dont risk it for the pretty design, use a real broker. A real company. Robinhood should be completely shut down.
About 3 years ago i put 1,000 into Robinhood and used the service to add 3,000 more over time. Upon downloading new app which Robinhood asked me to do, my account went to zero. No way to reach any life person. Try calling their phone number. Email help is no help. Would not recommend. Finally got 4k out by using old software and old password in different computer. UNSAFE…
My phone started random restarting and I lost all my data as phone had to factory reset. I ended up replacing my phone. There was no good support from Robinhood and app is not fixed yet.
This past Sunday I noticed $750 loss in my account. I saw a reverse split had occurred but that only accounted for $50, not $750. I screenshot the loss and submitted an email to Robinhood to investigate this matter and to send me any proof showing where the loss occurred. I was unable to find the loss among my stocks. Monday I received an email back only speaking to the reverse splits on my account the past year and they ignored my request about the $750. I resent an email again asking about the $750 loss only to hear back the same type of email response about the reverse splits. I finally emailed back and said I would be contacting my lawyer if they could not provide me with documentation showing where the loss occurred. They emailed me an excel document that can be easily tampered with and it was not on the date of the loss. Robinhood is purposely avoiding the issue and avoiding showing me the proof of where the $750 loss occurred which makes me believe they in fact stole my money and are hoping I either wouldnt notice the loss or id just accept their response. This is unacceptable behavior especially during these economic times to be stealing from their clients. I have reached out to an attorney to now handle this situation and once my funds are settled I will be closing my account with Robinhood. It is in my opinion that they have stolen my money and I am not the first or last person to have this happen. They cater to new investors who do not really know the stock business well and we are easy marks for things like this. Its disgusting behavior and I am hoping my attorney finds proof of misconduct and shuts them down.
My account got compromised from this app. Attn: Listen folks don’t share your account info with Robinhood or any online app with your routing number. I have been the victim of this app. Someone access my account info from here. It’s just an advise to all of you as public awareness. Nothing has been done by Robinhood so far in returning my stolen funds other than the issuing tickets. I changed my account and deleted this ominous app. I don’t want to see someone else going through same ordeal.
Robinhood has purposely and repeatedly given me false and misleading information with regards to transferring my assets away from their company. They have delayed things almost 2 months now and they still refuse to do anything about their negligent handling of my basic requests for critical information.
The worst customer service. They restricted my account To buy or sell for no reason and now there is no point to contact. Where should I go? Who should I contact? I don’t know why millions of people using Robinhood I am moving to another trading app which is way better than Robinhood.
DO NOT USE!
This app is not only an untrustworthy trading platform, but it specifically curates settings to take advantage of customers. If you incur a fee they will sell your shares without consent – there is no trading transparency – they preset dividend reinvesting so any profits you generate are forced back into the market so Robinhood can take advantage of inexperienced investors. Go use E-Trade or any other trading platform. Do not waste your time and money on such a tremendously fraudulent company.
Tip for consumers:
STAY AWAY.
I invested some money back in September, thankfully not too much. Now I am locked out of my account. I believe it was hacked. They are asking me for documentation/proof of who I am that I need to send them. I then looked up reviews and found this has happened to many people using Robinhood. It’s frustrating because you can’t talk to someone from customer support, it’s all via email.
They deserve ZERO stars. Worst platform ever. Dont waste your time or money. Glitchy system time after time. This is my 3rd year with the company thinking it would turn around. Im switching to TD and i think its the best decision of my life. The robinhood financial application again says i have lost my 2,375 shares. I legally still have those shares so what happened to them? Says stock is currently untradable. HA! What a joke. I sent several emails because guess what this shister of a company doesnt have phone support. Still no response months later. Obviously contacted securities lawyers. This has been going on for years. The villain has to be stopped!
Don’t even think about using Robinhood.: I have not been able to log into my account for 7 months. Someone, other than myself hacked in to Robinhoodadded and change my email to my account which I don’t have access cause I don’t have a password. Luckily, I’m only in for $500. Which hopefully I can write off as a loss.
Contacting Robinhood is a waste of time by giving me a run around.
So STAY AWAY or you will end up like me.
I lost my money to Robinhood after making great profit, I went to make a withdrawal but they asked me for more money by which point I knew my suspicions were correct it was a complete scam. Please everyone stay away! I have gotten my capital back with the help of Skyline-recovery, come
The Robinhood imput restrictions on my account, i can do nothing with my money the customer service ask me for all my documents SSN, Bank statements, Selfie, Passport. Valid ID etc.
I uploaded all my documents and after 10 days waiting they say my account will be deactivate. Noe im waiting 12 days and they dont give mo money back, can’t transfer my funds, withdrawal i cant do nothing.
This company STOLEN MY MONEY, now they give the same copy and paste answer on customer service and never answer my calls.
Please guys dont use this service is really bad.
Three months after opening the account and getting the Robinhood card the account was hacked and money was removed from the card. What money was left on the card was locked.
This happens to a lot of people. ROBINHOOD IS NOT SAFE
I’ve had it with Robinhood. Can’t get a person to call me back and they restricted my account so I have no access to my own money. Don’t get sucked into this scam.
If you think it’s too scary to invest your money in crypto or stocks, Robinhood offers you classes. Robinhood doesn’t charge you fees like a big corporations do the only time you pay is when you withdraw money or if it’s required by the SEC. Now YOU are in charge of your own money. You can buy, sell, and trade crypto currency. You can give it as a gift. Robinhood is putting your future in your hands. (Where it belongs)
My children pushed me towards this company… I bought a few things… spent a few dollars… but don’t ask me what or how well it has done because while deleting my browser history I managed to get signed out of my Robinhood account and they will not let me back in… they say the only way for me to gain access for my account is via a cell phone so they can send me a code… they are not the only account that uses this form of verification but they are the only one who does not know anything about email or land lines… not everyone has a cell phone… apparently this is the only way they know how to send a code so I am out my money and my purchases… yet they managed to email at least three times a week with ads for upgrades and to let me know I can view my account statements or to verify my tax info… none of which apply to me since I cant get into my account without a cell phone.
I notified Robinhood of a fraudulent account creation 3 days ago and still have had no response. Inexcusable for them to ignore reports of fraud.
I have scary and extremely bitter experience. WITHOUT MY CONSENT, Robinhood initiated a transfer of fund from my bank account to Robinhood account. This happened 2 times. Second time when I reported, instead of finding the glitch in their system, they locked out my account and started to verify my identity and asked me to provide legal documents and my photographs. I provided requested information 3 times. It’s almost 2 weeks by now and my account is still locked. I’m not getting any appropriate response from support team. They can’t figure out the problem in their system. Very concerning…
He has done nothing but lie to me. Go back on his employees word. At this point I have been trying to remove my funds for over a week now and they will not allow me too. They have been holding $1500 of mine hostage during a national shutdown for over a week. My wife and I both lost our jobs do to the shut downs and I thought well ok I’ll just sell my stocks to hold us over till we can find work. Well at this point our power will be getting shut tomorrow because of there lies, we haven’t been able to go grocery shopping. All they keep doing is switching me around, living to me and refusing and or keep extending the time for me to be able to put my funds back into my account. I have spent all week emailing back and forth from the time they open till the time they close and there story just keeps changing. I would highly suggest taking your business elsewhere!
If you’re looking for a way to throw your money down the drain… congratulations, you have found the right platform for you. 1st, the sell your data for the big hedge funds to make money off you. When you do want to sell the stocks that your rightfully own they prevent you from selling, causing you to lose out on more money. Don’t waste your time, invest with more reputable brokerages – ETrade, TD Ameritrade and Fidelity.