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I just installed Robinhood. $0 commissions is a pretty nice rate, so I'll probably transfer my IRA to them. (For prop trading I'm on IB.) But why such a user h

I just installed Robinhood. $0 commissions is a pretty nice rate, so I'll probably transfer my IRA to them. (For prop trading I'm on IB.) But why such a user hostile interface? It's almost as if this thing is made for a techcrunch press release rather than actual use. When signing up, I can't tilt the screen into "I have big thumbs" mode. And mobile-only trading - no webapp. It also only asks me to type my password once on my mobile device, with my fat thumbs. I'm sure that this sounds great to a techcrunch journalist who only has a 401k - "mobile trading for the flexible millenial workforce" - but it's pretty terrible for anyone who actually wants to make real trades. Also simply lovely; I look at a stock chart in the mobile app, and I can't see data older than 1 year. The default is 1 day. But I can watch SPY's last price ticking up and down in realtime, woot! I'm sure I'll also get push notifications for trades. (Disclaimer: I haven't tried to trade yet). I really hope this is a "lean startup" only beta and will be rapidly improved. Right now, the price tag is the only good thing about it.

fixxer 11y ago
Yeah, I thought this too. I pinged them for API access; I get the feeling they are looking for application partners and building an ecosystem. Kind of an interesting biz model.
ahh 11y ago
If the commission rate affects your IRA return, you are trading far too much.
- yummyfajitas 11y ago
  The IRA is the place to make highly volatile investments that might incur large capital gains taxes. In contrast, your ordinary brokerage is the place for buy&hold + occasional rebalance.
  - ahh 11y ago
    Volatile \neq frequently traded; tax is not affected by commission rate. I find it highly unlikely that almost anyone should trade anything frequently, even in the weirder corners of their portfolio.
    - yummyfajitas 11y ago
      I run some frequently traded strategies as a hobby (i.e., time spent >> my salary). My strategy is profitable (15-20% returns) though not scalable. The IRA is the perfect place for these, due to the tax implications.
elahd 11y ago
Does RobinHood support ACATS (broker to broker stock transfers) now? At launch, they did not. Edit: As of July, they still do not: https://support.robinhood.com/hc/en-us/articles/203583765-Broker-to-broker-transfers https://support.robinhood.com/hc/en-us/articles/203583765-Br....

fixxer 11y ago

Yeah, I thought this too. I pinged them for API access; I get the feeling they are looking for application partners and building an ecosystem. Kind of an interesting biz model.

ahh 11y ago

If the commission rate affects your IRA return, you are trading far too much.

yummyfajitas 11y ago
The IRA is the place to make highly volatile investments that might incur large capital gains taxes. In contrast, your ordinary brokerage is the place for buy&hold + occasional rebalance.
- ahh 11y ago
  Volatile \neq frequently traded; tax is not affected by commission rate. I find it highly unlikely that almost anyone should trade anything frequently, even in the weirder corners of their portfolio.
  - yummyfajitas 11y ago
    I run some frequently traded strategies as a hobby (i.e., time spent >> my salary). My strategy is profitable (15-20% returns) though not scalable. The IRA is the perfect place for these, due to the tax implications.

elahd 11y ago

Does RobinHood support ACATS (broker to broker stock transfers) now? At launch, they did not. Edit: As of July, they still do not: https://support.robinhood.com/hc/en-us/articles/203583765-Broker-to-broker-transfers https://support.robinhood.com/hc/en-us/articles/203583765-Br....