March 26 (Reuters) – Robinhood (HOOD.O)
, opens new tab is rolling out wealth management and private banking services for investors with modest portfolios, as the trading platform looks to have a bigger influence on its users’ financial habits.
The company said on Wednesday it is launching ‘Robinhood Strategies’ — a wealth management service with a 0.25% annual fee, capped at $250, for its premium ‘Gold’ subscribers.
Sign up here.
Users with as little as $50 in investments can access portfolios of exchange-traded funds managed by Robinhood’s investment experts. A $500 minimum investment will unlock access to individual stocks in the portfolios.
The move highlights growing demand for professional advice among retail traders, who are increasingly seeing investing as a strategic path
, opens new tab to building wealth and securing financial independence, rather than just a hobby.
A survey
, opens new tab of retail investors by Betterment last year showed that those with financial advisers felt more confident about their personal finances.
Robinhood Asset Management President Steph Guild, a JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N)
, opens new tab alum, said the new product could help level the playing field as personalized wealth management has long been the domain of high-net-worth clients.
“When we looked across the landscape today, we felt there was a gap and an opportunity,” she said.
It will also roll out an AI investment tool later in 2025 to provide real-time market analysis and insights.
PRIVATE BANKING
The company will also launch a private banking product for its Gold subscribers later this year with estate planning, tax advice and perks such as tickets to the Met Gala and the Oscars.
Tapping into users’ demand for premium services could help it boost the adoption of its Gold subscription — which costs $5 a month or $50 a year — and fits into Robinhood’s strategy of “democratizing” access to products traditionally reserved for the ultra wealthy.
“We’re not going after someone who has $10 million. We’re going after everybody else,” said Deepak Rao, general manager and vice president of Robinhood Money.
The company’s shares have risen 29% so far this year, while the Nasdaq composite index (.IXIC)
, opens new tab has dropped 5.4%.
Reporting by Niket Nishant and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Niket Nishant reports on breaking news and the quarterly earnings of Wall Street’s largest banks, card companies, financial technology upstarts and asset managers. He also covers the biggest IPOs on U.S. exchanges, and late-stage venture capital funding alongside news and regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency industry. His writing appears on the finance, business, markets and future of money sections of the website. He did his post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM) in Bengaluru.
Manya Saini reports on prominent publicly listed U.S. financial firms including Wall Street’s biggest banks, card companies, asset managers and fintechs. Also covers late-stage venture capital funding, initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges alongside news and regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency industry. Her work usually appears in the finance, markets, business and future of money sections of the website.
