Robinhood Review – Who is Robinhood.Com?

Robinhood is owned by Robinhood Financial LLC, a legal brokerage company registered in the US, fully regulated and licensed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The company was founded in 2013, and since then it’s been active in providing online trading and financial services. The firm has shown constant progress and numerous satisfied customers are confirming the quality of service provided. 

Robinhood Financial is also a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). 

You should take the time to read this comprehensive analysis of licensed brokers, which is highly recommended, such as FXCC, CommSec, and JP Markets.

Robinhood Overview

Robinhood offers its clients the possibility to trade without commission fees and inactivity fees, offers a variation of US stocks to choose from and the trading platform is accessible from desktop computers and mobile devices. 

Aside from that, a very useful educational section offers plenty of articles related to online trading. Beginner traders can read a lot about whichever aspect they are interested in. 

The downside of it is that if you are not a US citizen you can not join the platform, since it is only meant for US investors for now. 

Perhaps some users could consider this a con also, but Robinhood customer support isn’t enabling contact via phone. 

Clients in need of support would have to contact the staff by filling out the form online and providing an email to be contacted. 

How Safe is Robinhood? Regulation and Security

When a broker is fully licensed, it means that the funds invested by clients are safe and secure. In order for a brokerage company to be regulated and licensed, they have to meet strict regulatory conditions. 

Jurisdictional regulators are keeping a keen eye on every aspect of their operations in order to make sure the broker is following the rules and agreements. 

For a broker in the US to be regulated it first takes to have a beginning capital of $20000000. This is to ensure the company can cover its operations for a prolonged period of time.

Besides that, they have to include client funds segregation and transaction reporting. 

Leverage restriction is also a must in the US. It is limited to 1:50. So in case, you see a broker offering some unreasonably high leverage, be sure that they cannot be trusted.

While every trading business brings a risk, overly high leverage is a huge risk for high and unrecoverable losses. 

This Broker Features Several Account Types

As the website states, there are two types of trading accounts available on Robinhood.com:

• Margin Account
• Cash Account

Margin accounts are consisting of two subtypes: 

• Limited Margin (instant account)
• Margin

If a user creates a Limited (instant) account, they will have access to an instant depositing feature (up to $1000). The ability to trade unsettled funds is also available, which means they can sell securities without waiting for funds to process. 

A margin account on the other side provides more buying power and access to borrowed funds for trading.

Clients using Cash accounts can trade stocks and ETPs without worrying about the daily limitations tied to the number of trades. 

Cash accounts also have to wait up to 5 business days for the deposits to clear before they trade. Investors can switch from both Instant and Margin accounts to Cash accounts but not vice versa until 5 trading days have passed.

However, to be able to open an account on Robinhood, a user must meet the following conditions:

• To be at least 18 or older
• Have a valid security number
• Be a US resident, or citizen, have a valid visa and a valid address

Trading Instruments Offered by Robinhood

Currently, supported assets on Robinhood.com are the following: 

• U.S. Exchange-Listed Stocks and ETFs
• Options Contracts for U.S. Exchange-Listed Stocks and ETFs
• ADRs for over 650 Globally-Listed Companies

This broker offers trading with aforementioned assets that include over 5000 different stocks, but while also offering trading access to over 650 global stocks through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)

Robinhood Deposits and Withdrawals Methods Available

Robinhood Minimum Deposit

Compared to many shady brokers offering online trading services and asking sometimes thousands of dollars as a minimum deposit, Robinhood is incomparably more convenient. 

This broker doesn’t ask for a minimum deposit at all to allow users to start trading. 

It is entirely up to the investor and their investing capabilities to deposit and how much would that amount be. The way of payment used is only bank wire transfer. 

Withdrawals

Like with depositing, the same method is used for withdrawals, and that is a bank wire transfer. The broker doesn’t charge ridiculously high fees upon withdrawals, nor do they insist on clients meeting trading volume requirements.

Trading Platforms at Robinhood 

Robinhood offers a powerful and simple trading platform that can be accessed through the web and via mobile devices. There is no desktop app as of yet. 

Web Trading

Reliable and easy to use, this trading platform is offering users useful and descriptive tools that help them trade easier and faster.

This is very convenient for beginners in trading but experienced traders and investors have reported that the platform lacks advanced features.

Mobile Trading Platform

Robinhood: Stocks & Crypto app is available on google play and it has over 10 million downloads. It has an average rating of 3.9 from 460k reviews.

This is proof enough that numerous customers are satisfied with the service and value this app as reliable and secure.

Robinhood Provides Educational Tools

As a way of providing new customers additional support, Robinhood offers a special section. It serves the purpose of providing basic knowledge of some of the key points of online trading. 

Here users can read more about what is an investment, what is a stock, and what the stock market represents. 

Additionally, there are lengthy articles that provide some generous advice and insight for beginners on what it really means to invest, how to carefully plan the investments, and how to pick the right investment.  

Furthermore, the educational section also allows users to read more about disposable income, dividends, common stock, outsourcing, etc. 

Useful knowledge about some beginnings and the most relevant factors involved with online trading can be acquired through reading these. 

However, this is a beginner’s guide on these items and principles, so experienced traders may have little interest in reading them. 

Customer Support 

This is a service provided by the site in order to help customers, potential or existing ones, to buy a service. It is also available if there are difficulties with customers using offered services. 

While there are no phone numbers on the site’s support page if a user is dealing with a problem they can choose the field the problem comes from and contact support by writing an explanation of the problem. 

Even though support isn’t contactable via phone, the customer service is fast and the staff is efficient. So most customers do get a response in less than 24 hours after submitting the ticket.

Robinhood Overall Summary

Robinhood is a licensed brokerage company that operates in the US. One of the best aspects of it is that it requires no minimum deposit and doesn’t charge withdrawal fees and inactivity fees. 

It also offers clients a simple and reliable trading platform that is very convenient and user-friendly, especially in the eyes of a beginner trader. 

Since it is a fully regulated broker, investors that would like to take their chance at online trading can invest and rest assured that their funds are safe. 

Unlike how shady brokers just seemingly make it look like the platform is working and the client’s funds are growing, this legal broker doesn’t have to fake anything. 

Their website is fully functional, company’s information is shown for all to see, therefore, maximum transparency is provided. 

Furthermore, Robinhood doesn’t promise unreasonable profit, bonuses, and crazy high leverage, which is not allowed for regulated brokerage companies.

You will be however warned about possible risks that every online trading can bring.

On the other side, one of the cons is that it is only accessible to investors who are in the US. Meaning, if you come from another country and would like to try and trade on this site, you will not be able to join.  

FAQs About Robinhood Broker