Robinhood launches to UK customers

Robinhood, the trading and investing app made infamous by the Gamestop saga, has launched in the UK today, after two failed attempts.

This is the first step outside the US for the firm, after it shot to global infamy in 2021 as the central player in the so-called meme stock frenzy.

The brand tried to launch in the UK in 2020 and failed, and then attempted to buy UK trading app Ziglu in 2022, but backed out again, saying it was focusing on its US business instead.

“As I look at retail investing in the last six to nine months, people are talking about it, whether positive or negative,” Jordan Sinclair, president of Robinhood UK told City A.M.

Two key things that Robinhood found UK investors were pining for were low fees and interest on uninvested cash, as many platforms have come under criticism for their high fees and grabbing cash interest from their customers.

Robinhood promises no commission fees and no foreign exchange fees on trades of over 6,000 US stocks, while providing five per cent interest on uninvested cash.

Meanwhile, Sinclair also touted the benefit of the app being unconstrained by market hours, stating that over a third of customers using the service were already trading outside normal market open.

Additionally, the UK president is hoping that the information offered on the app such as stock fundamentals, earnings and analyst ratings is enough of a draw for more mature investors.

The business has not set any specific targets for UK growth, but it is entering a tightly packed platform market with tough competition.

A rival of Robinhood, Public.com, announced last month that it would be shuttering its UK operations after just eight months.

One key feature of Robinhood UK that was scrapped in the days before launch was marginal investing.

“It’s paused and we’re discussing further with the regulator, but it’s certainly something that we’re developing,” said Sinclair.

The firm’s stock price has more than doubled in the last year.