US. Can Robinhood be trusted with retirement accounts?

Robinhood, the brokerage popular among novice traders, may soon add retirement accounts onto its platform following its impending IPO, expected this week. New types of accounts could add scale to the brokerage—but may draw even more scrutiny from financial regulators.

Robinhood, the brokerage popular among novice traders, may soon add retirement accounts onto its platform following its impending IPO, expected this week. New types of accounts could add scale to the brokerage—but may draw even more scrutiny from financial regulators.

“Retirement isn’t necessarily something that a lot of [Robinhood investors] have been looking for out-the-gate, but we want to make long-term planning a habitual process for them so that they can be in a better place when they are older than their parents,” Tenev said on the call about the company’s customer base, which currently can only open up taxable brokerage accounts with Robinhood. (A Robinhood spokesman said the company is in a “quiet period” due to its IPO and declined to comment further for this story.)

The addition of retirement accounts could reel in even more money in addition to the $81 billion in client assets Robinhood currently has in its custody. But there are other considerations, too, such as whether investors will take risky bets on money intended for retirement savings; or whether adding new retirement accounts may draw another critical regulatory eye to the brokerage.

“Democratizing investing is great in theory—encouraging rapid trading probably isn’t, especially with retirement accounts,” Scott Smith, who conducts investor behavior and advisory relationship research at Cerulli Associates, said in an email.

Retirement accounts are, by definition, intended for long-term investing, or at least are supposed to be. The IRS offers notable tax deductions and incentives to individuals in order to encourage them to set aside some funds for their future. The catch is that investors can’t withdraw the money until they’re over 59 ½ —that is, without incurring income taxes and an additional 10% tax penalty.

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