Looks like a UK launch is on the cards…
Yikes. Will be interesting to see how they can compete against Freetrade. Hopefully ‘eventually’ means 2021 at the earliest, by which point Freetrade are an established incumbent.
If they rush it through and ‘eventually’ is ‘late 2019’, then quite possibly it’s anyone’s game…
Robinhood gets UK broker license
They can have my ISA and SIPP as soon as they open for business, though I assume the latter won’t be available straight away. It’s took Vanguard well over a year and no sign yet.
Freetrade has as ISA already? Isn’t it effectively the same service?
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There’s a fun but still informative thread on Robinhood here that covers some of the differences to Freetrade.
Essentially Freetrade are on the more ethical end, and I don’t know why someone would be waiting for Robinhood in particular, unless they like the idea of losing their money.
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No, not really. You can think of Freetrade as a copycat, cut-down, under-funded version of Robinhood. Freetrade isn’t really commission-free: it’s once per day, at a time not of your choosing. Robinhood also cater advanced investors and traders with options contracts, custom orders and the like.
On a personal note I did try Freetrade but didn’t like the product.
You seem very defensive of Robinhood, do you have a vested interest in it? or perhaps work for them?
Follow my link and read the comments. What do you disagree with there?
What features of Robinhood (that Freetrade or other UK stock brokers do not have) do you believe are beneficial, and to whom exactly?
As far as I know, and please do correct me if I’m wrong (I’ve never used Robinhood), the only features it brings to the table are those that enable and encourage day-trader like behaviour where the majority of people will lose money (either in absolute terms, or relative to the stock market average return).
These features should not be used by those looking to invest their money long term whilst having the highest likelihood of making good returns.
“Essentially Freetrade are on the more ethical end”
Please elaborate. How is Freetrade more ethical?
“I don’t know why someone would be waiting for Robinhood in particular, unless they like the idea of losing their money”
Please elaborate. I don’t like the idea of losing my money. That’s the very opposite of what I want to do.
Defensive?
To your question: no, I haven’t used the product, let alone invested in or worked for them.
They have deliberately chosen to not offer CFDs or options trading, or trading on margin, and align their fee structure with what is beneficial to their customers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RobinHood/comments/a6uujt/the_risks_of_trading_on_robinhood/
Just one of many examples. If you don’t want to lose money, you won’t want to use any of the features that Robinhood has that existing UK brokers do not have.
So I ask again, why would you want to use Robinhood in particular?
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“They [don’t] offer CFDs or options trading, or trading on margin.”
I guess we disagree on what makes a company ethical. What you just listed are tools to invest money.
“Just one of many examples. If you don’t want to lose money, you won’t want to use any of the features that Robinhood has that existing UK brokers do not have.”
A single complaint on reddit means any Robinhood feature not offered by another broker will lose you money? The very definition of a sweeping statement.
“So I ask again, why would you want to use Robinhood in particular?”
Zero commissions. No other UK broker (including Freetrade) offers that.
It’s not ethical, because these tools are used by the providers to make money off their clients. Most clients lose money using them. An ethical stance would be to try and get your clients to make money.
Furthermore, there are reports that Robinhood have (still? ever?) accepted payment for order flow and sell customer orders.
They do, just not free instant trades. Long term investors don’t need instant trades. Trading 212 offers free instant trades. What else appeals to you about Robinhood?
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“It’s not ethical, because these tools are used by the providers to make money off their clients. Most clients lose money using them. An ethical stance would be to try and get your clients to /make/ money.”
No, they’re tools that can be used to achieve a specific investment or trading strategy. They aren’t for everyone. Just like stocks. Most people shouldn’t trade stocks either, or invest with active managers. I suspect we won’t agree on the ethics argument here, so moving on.
“They do, just not free instant trades.”
No, they don’t. They offer free trades, once per day, at a time not of your choosing. That’s far from the commission free trading that Robinhood offer.
To be clear, Robinhood haven’t outlined their UK plans yet (that I’ve found, anyway). I suspect it’ll be different to the US, if not simply because options contracts vary hugely between the States and EU. Furthermore, in case it wasn’t obvious, I am very much against any unsophisticated investor (i.e. somebody that can’t read a cash-flow statement or balance sheet) buying individual company stocks, let alone options contracts.
In the past I have bought stocks based on the logo, the name and/or what I’m feeling that day. Zero research done. #sorrynotsorry
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Sometimes you just have to like their product…
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It’s your money mate 
They do offer commission free trading. This is fact; your invalid opinion on the matter does not change reality. You can trade via Freetrade without paying a commission. Simple as that.
It seems what you actually want to say is “I prefer Robinhood’s free instant trades”, which is fine. And as I noted, free instant trades are already available in the UK via Trading 212.
So I’ll ask yet again, what else appeals to you about Robinhood? Why are they better for you than T212? What can other readers of this thread look forward to?
What would you call a service offered by a UK broker that only allowed trades once per day, at a price (and time) you don’t know?
No, they don’t offer commission free trading. Please stop saying they do. I can’t execute a trade at 9am at a guaranteed price – or 10, 11, and so on. They offer a single period of commission free trading at a price and time you don’t know. That is categorically not commission free trading.
Are you a Freetrade investor by any chance?