Author Topic: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?  (Read 40804 times)

wealthviahealth

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I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« on: September 23, 2014, 11:35:55 AM »
I finally received my sign up offer to join the Robinhood commission free trading platform.
I imagined signing up the minute I had the opportunity but I now have cold feet since I haven't read about anyone's experience.
I will have to provide my ssn which is standard fro a bank or brokerage but since this is an untested platform I am a bit weary.

Has anyone tested this out yet/ should I wait to hear about other's experience first?

milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2014, 12:02:34 PM »
I would.

I would invest a pittance just to get a feel for their trading platform, bid ask spreads, selection of stocks/etfs, etc.

how did they inform you, email?


sobezen

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2014, 03:01:25 PM »
Same for me. I emailed them after receiving their invite but I have not heard back. Have any Mustachians attempted to use their services? Thanks!  Cheers! :)

solon

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2014, 03:16:58 PM »
There was a company called zecco that tried this. They offered $0 commissions for a couple years, but finally decided they couldn't afford to do that. They bumped their commission to $4.95/trade, and a couple years ago they merged with TradeKing.

I'd like robinhood to succeed, but they're going to have to do something different than zecco.

milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2014, 03:58:59 PM »
These guys are former high frequency traders.  I wonder if they are  planning to try to build up a huge customer base and sell access to the HFT guys.

All the on line brokerages do this, of course, but perhaps these guys have a better handle on monetizing client transactions to 3rd parties?

Even if they fold or get bought out like zecco, there's not much to lose by placing trades through them other than unfavorable pricing which shouldn't matter on a small scale when compared to the benefits of no transaction fees.




Rob

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2014, 07:46:32 PM »
These guys are former high frequency traders.  I wonder if they are  planning to try to build up a huge customer base and sell access to the HFT guys.

All the on line brokerages do this, of course, but perhaps these guys have a better handle on monetizing client transactions to 3rd parties?

Even if they fold or get bought out like zecco, there's not much to lose by placing trades through them other than unfavorable pricing which shouldn't matter on a small scale when compared to the benefits of no transaction fees.

And that shouldn't have an effect anyway if you're using limit orders, right?

I would definitely do it. What state are you in? I'm 3,100 on the list, but unsure if they can accept WI yet.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2014, 07:49:25 PM by Rob »

milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2014, 07:47:06 PM »
Right.

milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2014, 08:59:54 PM »
The only thing with limit orders is that if the deck is stacked against you, then you can't buy until the market moves to you. If the price goes up, you're out.

Again, for us this means pennies.  But for big institutions this inefficiency costs millions of dollars.

milesdividendmd

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Rob

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2014, 10:23:28 PM »
Nice quick read, thanks for posting.

davisgang90

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2014, 03:04:06 AM »
I'd like to see them succeed as well, but I'm reminded of the old Saturday Night Live Change Bank commercials.

"People ask, how do you make money just making change?  The answer: volume"

cowstash

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2014, 08:19:55 AM »
I got my invite last week and my account funded today. I'm off an trading, I like the service a lot.

BEN_BANNED

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2014, 08:28:23 AM »
I got my invite last week and my account funded today. I'm off an trading, I like the service a lot.

What's the minimum you need to fund your account?

cowstash

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2014, 09:04:46 AM »
What's the minimum you need to fund your account?

I don't think there is a minimum, though the default amount options were like $1,000-10,000 with an 'other' box. I opted for $500 and all I had to do was log directly into my Charles Schwab checking account for the transfer, so it was painless other than having to wait 3 days. I made a sweet $.48 on Virgin America as a test run this morning. The trades are smooth and the app is very nice, it's really like 3 seconds for the whole buying process.

GGNoob

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #14 on: November 17, 2014, 10:34:22 AM »
I signed up and haven't funded my account yet. It doesn't look like there is any account minimums.

Scandium

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #15 on: November 17, 2014, 12:24:13 PM »
Do they accept credit cards like Loyal3 used to?

If not I don't see much advantage to commission free trades when I can already buy an index fund commission free. What would I have to gain by getting much lower diversification for the same price?

milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #16 on: November 17, 2014, 02:31:09 PM »
Being able to purchase any ETF commission free would be pretty sweet.  Vanguard does not have the best index fund in every class IMO.

As an example I far prefer RZV to VBR, but would have to pay a commision to buy it through vanguard.

GGNoob

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #17 on: November 17, 2014, 02:41:45 PM »
Being able to purchase any ETF commission free would be pretty sweet.  Vanguard does not have the best index fund in every class IMO.

As an example I far prefer RZV to VBR, but would have to pay a commision to buy it through vanguard.

Yes, this is a huge benefit. Access to all stocks and all ETFs commission free. For example, if you want bonds in a taxable acount: TD Ameritrade offers a few muni-bond ETFs commission free, but with Robinhood, you can choose whatever ones you want.

MikeBear

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2014, 10:41:28 PM »
I'd like to see them succeed as well, but I'm reminded of the old Saturday Night Live Change Bank commercials.

"People ask, how do you make money just making change?  The answer: volume"

You place an order, then they probably front-buy the stock a little cheaper, then instantly turn around and sell it to YOU a little higher... Even a few pennies here and there, with a lot of churning with many people, and they could make tons of money.

Just my theory, but they obviously have to make money somehow.

index

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #19 on: November 20, 2014, 06:50:29 PM »
I'd like to see them succeed as well, but I'm reminded of the old Saturday Night Live Change Bank commercials.

"People ask, how do you make money just making change?  The answer: volume"

You place an order, then they probably front-buy the stock a little cheaper, then instantly turn around and sell it to YOU a little higher... Even a few pennies here and there, with a lot of churning with many people, and they could make tons of money.

Just my theory, but they obviously have to make money somehow.

This is illegal for your broker to do. Hft is not at the broker level, it's at the exchange level. This firm will probably make money by lending your shares to be sold short. Short sellers have to pay interest to borrow your shares, the company keeps that interest.

Interactive brokers shares this with you. Google in enhanced yield program.

I would also suspect Robin Hood will not offer the best margin rates. It seems like a really cool concept though and I'm sure it will grow quickly!

cowstash

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #20 on: November 26, 2014, 07:48:33 AM »
This is illegal for your broker to do. Hft is not at the broker level, it's at the exchange level. This firm will probably make money by lending your shares to be sold short. Short sellers have to pay interest to borrow your shares, the company keeps that interest.

Interactive brokers shares this with you. Google in enhanced yield program.

I would also suspect Robin Hood will not offer the best margin rates. It seems like a really cool concept though and I'm sure it will grow quickly!

I've done now ~20 trades with Robinhood and the price I've gotten has consistently been the market price at the exact moment that I swipe up to buy or sell. The only two downsides I see are that you can only make trades from your phone (no website support, even to see your account holdings) and after you sell it takes 3 business days to clear and have the funds from that sale available. So that nixed my idea of making small bets throughout the day with my play money. It's also running on beta software, so you have to manually update the app and I don't know what you'd do if you had an urgent order and the app crashes or won't load (this hasn't happened to me yet).

milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #21 on: November 27, 2014, 04:14:31 PM »

This is illegal for your broker to do. Hft is not at the broker level, it's at the exchange level. This firm will probably make money by lending your shares to be sold short. Short sellers have to pay interest to borrow your shares, the company keeps that interest.

Interactive brokers shares this with you. Google in enhanced yield program.

I would also suspect Robin Hood will not offer the best margin rates. It seems like a really cool concept though and I'm sure it will grow quickly!

I've done now ~20 trades with Robinhood and the price I've gotten has consistently been the market price at the exact moment that I swipe up to buy or sell. The only two downsides I see are that you can only make trades from your phone (no website support, even to see your account holdings) and after you sell it takes 3 business days to clear and have the funds from that sale available. So that nixed my idea of making small bets throughout the day with my play money. It's also running on beta software, so you have to manually update the app and I don't know what you'd do if you had an urgent order and the app crashes or won't load (this hasn't happened to me yet).

Sounds ideal. Can't wait to try it.

Can you trade any ETF for free?


milesdividendmd

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #22 on: December 17, 2014, 12:39:30 AM »
I got my invitation last week and I'm currently trading with Robin Hood. I really like it so far. The bid ask spreads are identical to TD Ameritrade. And you can indeed buy/sell any ETF fee free.

When they sent me my invitation, they sent me three invitation codes for others to try the service without waiting on the waiting list. .

If anybody wants to try it out, just PM me. (Full disclosure: I get absolutely nothing if you take me up on this offer.)

AZ

davisgang90

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #23 on: December 17, 2014, 05:58:22 AM »
I'm in as well and have 3 codes to share.  PM if you are interested.

solon

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #24 on: December 17, 2014, 11:25:05 AM »
I got an invitation this week, but I couldn't use it because Robinhood is built only for iOS. They don't even have a web app!

randommadness

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #25 on: December 17, 2014, 03:49:30 PM »
I got an invitation this week, but I couldn't use it because Robinhood is built only for iOS. They don't even have a web app!

This. I said I had iOS thinking I'd just go in and use the web app, was disappointed. Anything that restrictive instantly turns me off :(

Fallenour

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #26 on: December 19, 2014, 07:42:27 AM »
I got an invitation this week, but I couldn't use it because Robinhood is built only for iOS. They don't even have a web app!

This. I said I had iOS thinking I'd just go in and use the web app, was disappointed. Anything that restrictive instantly turns me off :(

I dont like iOS and their development platforms, and the costs associated with dealing with them, and thus I dont make APIs for them. Im gonna have to pass and delay until they come out with android.

I trust its platform much more.

solon

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #27 on: December 19, 2014, 08:33:13 AM »
Or at least a web app.  I don't understand why they didn't build a web app first. Then, if nothing else happens, literally everyone could use the app. After the web app, THEN you can add iOS, Android, and others.

ijingle

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #28 on: December 19, 2014, 07:04:35 PM »
I'm not going to use this Robinhood Invitation if someone wants to "claim" it: https://www.robinhood.com/signup/?invite_code=UVR9ACH3

invite code: UVR9ACH3

nisky

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #29 on: February 10, 2015, 07:05:08 PM »
New here and taking in a lot on these forums.  Thanks.

I just got my Robinhood invite and got 3 free codes to share.  If anyone wants it, let me know.  (Nothing in it for me, just want to give away who is waiting in line for their turn).

tj

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #30 on: February 10, 2015, 09:30:44 PM »
I received a notification that I will receive an inviation soon, but I don't use Apple products so it sounds like I won't be able to use it anyway.

TypicalVillain

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #31 on: February 10, 2015, 11:08:31 PM »
I started using them recently, really slick product. The main thing for me that keeps me from putting more $$ in the account is that I'm a little afraid of myself. With extremely easy investing from my pocket, I'm much more tempted to make more frequent trades (e.g. when I hear about a cool company). Especially with the no-fees thing, it means I can put money in the market with almost no consideration of the consequences. So yeah, it's definitely a good product, but a little dangerous...

Dividend Growth Investor

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #32 on: February 11, 2015, 09:36:14 AM »
I signed up for Robinhood late last year, and made two investments. I did review it, but I don't think I will be doing much in terms of investing from there.

There are several appealing factors behind Robinhood:

- Zero commissions on US Stocks
- No account minimums
- No Inactivity Fees
- No Deposit/Withdrawal fees
- Trades are executed right away at good prices
- Investor assets under $500,000 are insured by the SIPC

The items I don’t like are:

- Only available for a limited number of people
- Has not existed long enough
- Only available using an app
- Low commissions could tempt new investors to actively trade

« Last Edit: March 18, 2017, 03:08:30 PM by Dividend Growth Investor »

GGNoob

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #33 on: February 11, 2015, 11:07:38 AM »
I moved myself up on the invite list by referring myself (through variations of my gmail adddress using periods) and I'm now getting all of my invites (20+). So if anybody needs an invite code, message me. They expire in like 48 hours.

tj

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #34 on: February 11, 2015, 11:44:19 AM »
I moved myself up on the invite list by referring myself (through variations of my gmail adddress using periods) and I'm now getting all of my invites (20+). So if anybody needs an invite code, message me. They expire in like 48 hours.

The e-mail I received stated that the codes are not transferrable.

GGNoob

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #35 on: February 11, 2015, 11:49:59 AM »
I moved myself up on the invite list by referring myself (through variations of my gmail adddress using periods) and I'm now getting all of my invites (20+). So if anybody needs an invite code, message me. They expire in like 48 hours.

The e-mail I received stated that the codes are not transferrable.

Oh...well I assume all invites will be out soon anyhow. I just figured maybe I could give my sign up link and code and allow somebody else to sign up.

SDREMNGR

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I have Robinhood invites to share
« Reply #36 on: February 12, 2015, 07:05:42 PM »
I have 3 invites to share.  I just signed up for this and funded my account.  Much better to use this account for my play money taxable account since there is zero trading cost to mess with trading decisions.  I've only funded $500 and am planning on this being my seed money and I'm not going to add any more money.  If you are a good trader, it should be enough to start adding up to real money in a few years.

You need an iphone or ipad to use Robinhood. 

https://www.robinhood.com/signup?invite_code=3XNMRQ3H
https://www.robinhood.com/signup?invite_code=IA3XETCU
https://www.robinhood.com/signup?invite_code=ZHRRAUBR
« Last Edit: February 18, 2015, 02:50:56 PM by SDREMNGR »

LilStash

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Also have invites to share, insight too!
« Reply #37 on: February 16, 2015, 05:55:22 PM »
Hey guys and gals,

This is my first post on this forum. I've been using Robinhood for awhile now. I really like the platform because it is simple and free from clutter for the intended millennial demographic.

As pointed out, it is dangerous because it encourages users to obsessively check their stocks. When I first started, I found myself checking more than fifteen times per day, sometimes even watching by the  minute, swiping for the latest price update. It certainly encourages people to gamble by timing the market and placing daily limit orders to capitalize on volatility. For newbie investors like myself, learning to not emotionally respond to stocks is hard. Robinhood makes it harder by showing you your portfolio value rise/fall in real time with every stock price update.

Nothing was more terrifying for me than watching KBHomes drop some 20% in real time with their Q4 report saying "we won't make so much this quarter, but we'll bounce back next quarter". I bought as it kept sinking, which was the right thing to do in this case for long term growth. Then emotions got the best of me and I sold it all to minimize loss, after realizing I dumped way too much into it getting excited with each drop. KBH is returning to a healthy level, but emotions run rampant with Robinhood since you really can purchase a stock with just two swipes.

Annoyingly, there is no Y axis measurement of price, and no specific dates below the stock. So to an amateur investor, a stock could look excellent or extremely volatile visually but really be stagnant, moving pennies over a year. If you use both thumbs on the chart, you can see specific dates and price in a range-- but they don't advertise that. Also, the platform seems to not be able to show the "MAX" lifetime of the stock, because the option is always blacked out.

The interface is black when the market is closed, and white when it's open. A simple but unexplained subtlety that looks good.

Overall, Robinhood is simple for simple people. The lack of cluttered information and trading fees removes the daunting "I have no idea what that means" feeling that keeps people from investing, however I think Robinhood makes trading TOO EASY, which can land some of these people in hot water.

It's badass to see your friend sink $10 in Candy Crush while you earn $10 on a day trade, but I think there can be a lot of irresponsible investing because of this app.

PM me for invites, I have three and will talk you through the platform if you're serious about learning it.

sagecincaid

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #38 on: February 16, 2015, 08:31:16 PM »
It was interesting for me to come across this because I too just recently received my own email to join Robinhood 2 days ago and had been wondering if I should bother but then about 30 minutes after the fact, decided to just go through with it. Probably not the wisest decision on my part, before doing some extra digging like you did, seeing as how they ask for your social security number and other info. I was pretty surprised when they pretty much instantaneously were able to tell that I had a applied to a loan before and where it was. Testament to technology having the potential to be scary/creepy.
So far it seems pretty legit but I haven't actually attempted to place any trades yet. After I do, I'll throw up some blog updates through my newsletter site, over at  The Dream Team, to let readers know about how the process went. I'm sure there are a ton of people randomly getting the e-mails after having completely forgotten they had even signed up (as I did) and wondering if it's safe.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2015, 08:33:18 PM by sagecincaid »

SDREMNGR

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #39 on: February 18, 2015, 02:55:04 PM »
Robinhood makes things much easier for the investor / low budget daytrader / speculator.

I use it only for my play money.  It's too easy to trade away the day without having good data.  I use Vanguard for my real investing but Robinhood is my new Candycrush with real money.  I've promised myself that I'll only fund it $50/month and however I can grow the account through trading is mine to keep or use as I want as entertainment budget.

rpr

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #40 on: February 18, 2015, 04:48:29 PM »
It was interesting for me to come across this because I too just recently received my own email to join Robinhood 2 days ago and had been wondering if I should bother but then about 30 minutes after the fact, decided to just go through with it. Probably not the wisest decision on my part, before doing some extra digging like you did, seeing as how they ask for your social security number and other info. I was pretty surprised when they pretty much instantaneously were able to tell that I had a applied to a loan before and where it was. Testament to technology having the potential to be scary/creepy.
So far it seems pretty legit but I haven't actually attempted to place any trades yet. After I do, I'll throw up some blog updates through my newsletter site, over at  The Dream Team, to let readers know about how the process went. I'm sure there are a ton of people randomly getting the e-mails after having completely forgotten they had even signed up (as I did) and wondering if it's safe.
As part of the sign in process, you have to agree to the Terms and Conditions. In that it, explicitly states  that you give them permission to  pull a consumer report. I did set one up but my account says -- waiting for approval or some such.

jmusic

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Re: I can now sign up for Robinhood but Should I?
« Reply #41 on: February 18, 2015, 05:00:55 PM »
The only two downsides I see are... and after you sell it takes 3 business days to clear and have the funds from that sale available.

Those are actually standard market settlement rules for any brokerage, unless you have a margin account.  Even if they did make it available, there's also the "Pattern Day Trader" rules to be aware of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_day_trader