Robinhood Markets Inc., the pioneer of commission-free stock trading, is venturing into the UK market, making its international debut by offering British retail investors access to more than 6,000 US-listed stocks and other securities.
This move follows the company’s success in the US during the Covid pandemic, where it gained popularity among first-time investors during the “meme-stock” frenzy.
While the enthusiasm among retail investors has cooled, Vlad Tenev, Robinhood’s CEO and co-founder, aims to disrupt the UK market by offering a range of attractive features.
Tenev stated, “We’d like to help lower fees for all customers in the UK, just like we did in the US back in 2019, right before Covid.”
The features include 5% interest on uninvested cash, zero trading commission, currency fees, and trading outside of market hours. Users can join a waitlist now, and the service aims to be fully available starting in 2024.
Despite facing regulatory scrutiny in the US for its role in the “meme-stock” frenzy and accusations of encouraging excessive risk-taking, Robinhood has ambitious plans for international expansion.
The company will compete with local platforms like Revolut and Freetrade, as well as US-based rival Public.com, which expanded to the UK in July.
Tenev believes that Robinhood’s technology-focused approach gives it an edge in expanding globally.
He emphasized, “The fact that we’ve built this platform from the ground up and we’re a technology company and financial services, not a brick and mortar institution, I think makes us more able to expand internationally in ways that traditional financial institutions can’t.”
Robinhood also plans to introduce crypto trading in the European Union in the coming weeks, further diversifying its offerings beyond traditional stocks.
Despite a recent 11% decline in transaction-based revenues in Q3 2023, Robinhood continues to explore new revenue streams, including the launch of a credit card in the US.
The company’s shares, although up 10% this year, remain 90% lower than their peak.
