Robinhood's Gold

Driving across central Texas last weekend, I was listening to Sirius XM when a Robinhood Gold ad popped up promoting an IRA match. I thought that was weird. This was the first time I had heard about it. Only employers who offer 401(k)s or 403(b)s match.

Robinhood’s gold was being redistributed if I became a customer?

Time to dig deeper.

I’ve heard a lot about Robinhood as a company, neither good nor bad, and my first pass was to position them against BlackRock, Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity. Upfront, this is not a Robinhood Gold review; just a perspective. I asked perplexity.ai: “Compare Robinhood to Blackrock, Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity,” and attached a fairly rich document at the end of this note.

One summary measure reported,

Interesting. Robinhood’s target is younger, presumably lower-income, lower-wealth users.

I like the idea of this market being served. I have no idea how they approach advising and customer service. “Robo-advisor,” or a lower-cost asset manager that charges a fee based on money held on account with them? I find no mention of economics-based planning for customers on their site. Nothing about how longevity, income taxes, and spending preferences inform saving and investing.

To their ad.

I am intrigued by the 3% promotion. Is the IRA match free money? Can it be without cost? Let us explore.