Comments on: Robinhood’s “Free Stock” Offer Isn’t Really That Great

By: Joel

Joel — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 13:51:48 +0000

In reply to Amanda Rufener. haha. I actually already sold it and requested the close of my RH account. Oops!

By: Amanda Rufener

Amanda Rufener — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 05:44:16 +0000

The stats on who is using RH are startling! 50% of users use the app everyday?! That’s a recipe for extra stress and anxiety!

I feel like you have to do a quarterly update on your single Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock…

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 16:51:37 +0000

In reply to Donna. That's cool! Fractional shares are really interesting :)

By: Donna

Donna — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 05:04:47 +0000

I have other accounts that hold my retirement and investment accounts. But I have Robinhood too. It’s my fun money, my gambling money. I use it for crypto and I love that I can buy fractional shares. I can have a very diversified portfolio of fractional shares. I like to look at the percentage increase. It all feels exciting even though it’s a tiny amount of money.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:38:51 +0000

In reply to Ugo Chiulli. Hey Ugo! Thanks for sharing. I was hoping to hear from an experienced user, so I really appreciate your feedback! I agree that people getting into trouble with investing is not 100% the brokers fault. Beginners/gamblers can mess around on any platform. Also great to hear that some people out there are using RH wisely and are following good principles.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:29:06 +0000

In reply to JoeHx.

I guess I could have stuffed a referral link into this post and tried to get people to sign up. But I’m not a huge fan of referrals that aren’t big win/wins for everyone. Smart tactic by RobinHood though — I’m sure it’s part of their booming growth.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:25:16 +0000

In reply to Impersonal Finances. Knowing my luck, the stock they gave me (I just sold it) will skyrocket in a few years and I'll be kicking myself.

By: Impersonal Finances

Impersonal Finances — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 06:07:19 +0000

I know GME was a popular cheap stock for a lot of people a few years ago… nice surprise for the people who held on to that one! But yeah mine was and is still worth $5 haha.

By: JoeHx

JoeHx — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 01:20:52 +0000

The real money – like anything else, I guess – is with the referral bonuses. Although you’re just as likely to get the five dollar stock, you get more chances.

By: Ugo Chiulli

Ugo Chiulli — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:30:10 +0000

Joel,

I am, unashamedly, one of those more “advanced” investors. I have a firm financial grasp of finances. My main “cash” trading account (outside of my IRA) is thru my bank and affiliated broker… and pay NO trading fees there. I have an emergency fund, a healthy IRA, as well as own my home an invest in real estate. I am also nowhere near millenial age … I’m 52. That’s my background.

Why I use RH?
– I wanted to see what all the hype was about… and so deposited a few bucks.
– I give a lot of financial (which includes stock) advice to family, friends, co-workers (only to those that ask)… I am not a financial adviros… but have good financial and business experience. In being able to give them advice, I thought it good to have a simple platform to recommend (RH checks that requirement) and thought it good to also have the same platform so I can speak intelligently about what they may experience.
– I dabble in crypto currency, and RH makes it ULTRA easy to hold crypto. In fact, since my banking affiliated broker offers FREE trades as well as better financial research, I have relegated my RH account to mainly being my Crypto currency holder.

Beyond these reasons, I couldn’t justify further use for RH.

So perhaps your assessment as to HOW RH is being used may be correct in general. But as with any tool, it is HOW you use it. There is nothing stopping a knucklehead from swinging an axe incorrectly and causing damage to either life or property. I do have use cases where some close friends use RH wisely. They invest weekly a set amount of money, they don’t touch those investments, they have built a decent portfolio. They likely would NOT have done so if it weren’t so easy to open their investment accounts (at RH). So the key here is in EDUCATED use of the tool. Of course I also have a group of less close friends that trade daily and will sell stocks after making $1 and quickly at any sign of loss. Most of them I believe are on the losing side of transactions.

Take from this what you deem worthy.