Small money decisions are constant to everyone in life. You find it uneasy about living a day without spending your money.  Your short-term expenses are often not regarded as part of your financial life. However, it is possible to lay a foundation that will lead you to a comfortable life. 

The foundation can be laid by investing your money and allowing it to grow. You should invest rather than saving because savings remain stagnant for an extended period while investing allows you to grow your investment through appreciation and dividends.

Although innovators are making a significant impact in financial technology, Robinhood remains the best and the safest.

It is the sure plug to invest in the financial market, making investing easy and fun. Its growth has been impressive and unique. You can easily access your trade and account information from anywhere. 

Robinhood does not charge its members any trading fee, and it is one of the best platforms that open beginner’s investors to learn about the market.

Robinhood Company Info

Official websitewww.robinhood.com
Founded24/08/2012
OwnerVlad Tenev
Number of Employees1281 (2020)
Revenue%
Location85 Willow Road Menlo Park, CA 94025 United States
Customer service contact1-650-940-2700
Social MediaTwitter, @RobinhoodApp, www.linkedin.com/company/robinhood, @AskRobinhood @Robinhood*

What is Robinhood?

Robinhood Inc. is an American financial technology company known to start commission-free trades. They provide online and mobile application-based discount stock brokerage solutions, enabling users to invest in publicly traded companies and exchange-traded funds.  It aims to satisfy people’s demand, so Robinhood did not have account minimums and made trading fee-free. These features are the best for investors who want to start small before working their way to greatness.

Their impacts on the community have helped them grow their company. They now have over 10 million users. Their product and concept have been proven through their magnificent impact. Robinhood permits users to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum Dogecoin.

>>MORE: Is Uphold Reputable & Safe? Is It Relatively Reliable?

How does Robinhood work?

First-time inexperienced investors can invest effortlessly with Robinhood. It offers free trading and an intuitive mobile platform. You will be given a free share of a stock when you open and fund your account.

Free stocks and commission-free trading attract and retain a large number of users, and this drives huge revenue for Robinhood by making small amounts of money on individual trades.  Robinhood has helped solve investing problems and also made investing more accessible. It is the first alternative to full-service brokerages. Lower-income investors can invest, and since there is no minimum account, it allows users to trade fractional shares instead of whole shares.  They promise new accounts with free stock.  They make money majorly through their premium membership fees, stock loans, and order flow.

>>MORE: Is Missguided Morally Reputable? Or Is This Fraud?

Is Robinhood safe and legit or a scam?

Both your money and your data are safe with Robinhood; the company is covered by Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).  Robinhood went further to provide its brokerage customers with additional excess SIPC coverage. Sensitive details are protected; their security team encrypts them. Other safety measures have been put in place to protect users’ money and data. It is fortunate to know that they are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  There has never been any reported case of viruses or malware from the site. However, users have been warned about some phishing emails that link to fake Robinhood sites.

>>MORE: Is Bellewholesale Trustworthy & Legit? Is It a Fraud?

Is Robinhood trustworthy and reliable?

The overall web rating for Robinhood is 3.38 considering some features, such as fees, investment selection, platform navigability, customer service, trustworthiness, and educational resources or research. Although this rating may not be the best, it shows a high level of trust from their customers.  There are some refund protections for your funds that last 30 days from the day of your purchase.  The refund will be processed after your return has been approved. Aside from the October 2020 report that revealed Robinhood being hacked, there has never been any reported scam from Robinhood.  This incident raised questions to challenge how reliable the strength of data security and the role of customer service is in a data breach situation.

Who should choose Robinhood?

Robinhood is best for new investors, active traders, margin traders, and day traders. People who prefer to purchase or trade investments without commission won’t regret using Robinhood. Anyone interested in investing in cryptocurrency should choose Robinhood. It is the best option for mobile users and individual taxable accounts.

>>MORE: LendingClub: Is It Safe & Legit? Is It a Fraud?

Robinhood App Review

There has been an increase in investors, and every investment is thriving to serve its customers. It leads to the innovation of mobile applications to help both investment management and investors. Robinhood is one of the apps that aim at helping investors to trade stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, and cryptocurrency without paying a dime. The app supports a streamlined interface, cryptocurrency trading, and there is no account minimum.

The app is easy to navigate, and it is safe to use. Here are some of its features: Web and mobile application user interface, which will help you navigate your ways on the app, search bar, trading interface, buy or sell options (Enables fast deposits).

Is Robinhood Insured and Regulated?

Robinhood is fully insured by Securities Investment Protection Corporation (SIPC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  It is important to note that both SIPC and FDIC do not cover any market losses you encounter in your trading decision. Also, all your crypto investments have no federal insurance.

>>MORE: K Health: Is It Safe & Legit? Can It Be Trusted?

Robinhood fees and costs

Robinhood offers free service to open and maintain an account, and it is also free to transfer funds to your account. However, there are small charges required by the Financial Market Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for stock sell orders.  These fees are passed to their customers, and they remit them to Self-regulatory organizations (SROs). The fee aims to cover the cost incurred by the government, mainly for supervising and regulating markets and securities professionals. Meanwhile, Robinhood can collect more of these fees since they are mandated to remit it to FINRA. The fee is $0.000119 per share and $0.002 per contract. Robinhood generates additional income on interest, lending, premium accounts, and rebates.

Does Robinhood have good customer service?

According to several clients, Robinhood’s customer care is lacking. One of Robinhood’s flaws is phone assistance. Most emails to Robinhood are sent via email. The company has openly declared that they are working on phone support to satisfy customers’ needs.  It can be deduced that Robinhood does not have a well-structured help center and resource hub. Getting in touch through the mail is not easy as customers have to pass through a series of FAQs before getting in touch with the company.

>>MORE: Is BookVIP Trustworthy & Legit? To What Extent Is It Safe? 

What are Countries that support Robinhood?

The United States of America and the United Kingdom are the leading countries available to register with Robinhood. Regulation processes of each country have prevented Robinhood from expanding beyond these two countries. However, almost all countries except Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine support Robinhood. There are restrictions on accounts in the listed regions.

The pros and cons of Robinhood

ProsCons
Free us stockLimited product range
Free ETF tradingWeak customer support
Excellent mobile and web trading appFew educational materials
Fast account openingNo access to mutual funds or futures trading
Can trade cryptocurrencyWeak trading analysis tools available
Easy to understand interfaceOnly taxable brokerage account available

>>MORE: Is VidIQ Trusted & Safe? Does It Make a Difference?

Careers at Robinhood

Here are some listed careers that are common to Robinhood: Software Developer, Intern career, product manager career, analyst career, software engineer intern career, and others. Although it’s challenging to secure a position at Robinhood due to its technical nature, the company is an excellent place to work.

Best Robinhood Alternatives

Due to some complaints from the customers, here are some alternatives to Robinhood. They are platforms that help you perform both fundamental and technical analysis.

  • Webull
  • Trade Station
  • SoFi Active Investing
  • TD Ameritrade
  • Moomoo
  • M1 Finance
  • Public
  • Interactive Brokers and
  • Trader

>>MORE: Is Rev.com Reputable & Legit? Is It a Fraud?

Additional FAQs

How do Robinhood taxes work?

Users pay tax if the dividend income is above $10 or made from sold stock within a year. According to IRS guidelines, all the profits you make from the sales of stocks are subject to short-term and long-term capital gain tax.

Is the Robinhood app available outside the UK and USA?

No!  Robinhood is not available in most countries due to regulatory restrictions. There are available alternatives to Robinhood in some countries.  Canadian traders have Wealthsimple, while traders in India have Winvesta as their alternative.

Is it possible to have more than one Robinhood account?

Robinhood only supports one account per customer. Every customer has an account connected to their Social Security number.

Does the share I buy from Robinhood belong to me?

Ordered shares remain your own as soon as you purchase them. All you need to do is to wait for the approval of your payment.

Is it possible to cancel or close my application?

Yes, it is possible to close or cancel your application, but you will have to contact Robinhood through email. There would be no point in mailing Robinhood if you didn’t submit the application you started.

How do I access my account after I have been locked out of it?

It is paramount you contact Robinhood if you get locked out of your account and don’t have access to your email and phone number associated with your account.

What is Robinhood Gold?

Robinhood Gold grants you access to research reports on the stock. It is a premium subscription. You will be able to invest on margin.