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I really don't understand the appeal of Robinhood... if you're going to hold stocks for years you really shouldn't be skimping on an $8 commission. Get a proper

I really don't understand the appeal of Robinhood... if you're going to hold stocks for years you really shouldn't be skimping on an $8 commission. Get a proper broker with a reputation.

smpetrey 10y ago
Well for one, it's about disruption and change. The creators are more than familiar with brokerage, and it shouldn't be a shocker that most brokers do not operate trades, it's mostly electronic.[1] If you're going to hold stocks for years, why not skimp on an $8 commission? If you make a purchase of 100 shares of $FB, it could save you at least $800 for that sale. So the real question is, why not? [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwpQpFqzoAE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwpQpFqzoAE
- jdmichal 10y ago
  > If you make a purchase of 100 shares of $FB, it could save you at least $800 for that sale. That's not how commissions work. They are per order, not per share.
  - inthewoods 10y ago
    Not completely accurate - while most brokers are per order, you can use a broker such as Interactive Brokers which charge per share (with a minimum).
    - jdmichal 10y ago
      Yes, at $0.005 per share. It's pretty obvious that $8 is going to be a per order commission.
- soVeryTired 10y ago
  Most brokers don't charge per share. The good ones charge a fixed fee per trade. So if you trade three times a year you might pay $30.
- kingnothing 10y ago
  You don't pay the commission per share, it's per transaction. Buying 100 shares of FB will cost $8, as would buying 10 shares.
- seattle_spring 10y ago
  Commissions are per trade, not per share...
paulgb 10y ago
I use robinhood even though I have a "proper" brokerage account. I would be happy to pay an $8 commission if I knew what I was getting for the money over what robinhood offered, but as far as I can tell I'd just be paying $8 to use a crappier UI to make my trades.
- tanderson92 10y ago
  But as already mentioned, this entire portfolio can be constructed at Vanguard with commission-free trades. Their brokerage is better than Robinhood too (fractional shares for one, better execution)
  - paulgb 10y ago
    > fractional shares for one, better execution Thanks, this is the sort of answer I was looking for. I just added a brokerage account to my Vanguard 401k account, and I will use that for ETFs from now on.

I really don't understand the appeal of Robinhood... if you're going to hold stocks for years you really shouldn't be skimping on an $8 commission. Get a proper broker with a reputation.

smpetrey 10y ago

Well for one, it's about disruption and change. The creators are more than familiar with brokerage, and it shouldn't be a shocker that most brokers do not operate trades, it's mostly electronic.[1] If you're going to hold stocks for years, why not skimp on an $8 commission? If you make a purchase of 100 shares of $FB, it could save you at least $800 for that sale. So the real question is, why not? [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwpQpFqzoAE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwpQpFqzoAE

jdmichal 10y ago
> If you make a purchase of 100 shares of $FB, it could save you at least $800 for that sale. That's not how commissions work. They are per order, not per share.
- inthewoods 10y ago
  Not completely accurate - while most brokers are per order, you can use a broker such as Interactive Brokers which charge per share (with a minimum).
  - jdmichal 10y ago
    Yes, at $0.005 per share. It's pretty obvious that $8 is going to be a per order commission.
soVeryTired 10y ago
Most brokers don't charge per share. The good ones charge a fixed fee per trade. So if you trade three times a year you might pay $30.
kingnothing 10y ago
You don't pay the commission per share, it's per transaction. Buying 100 shares of FB will cost $8, as would buying 10 shares.
seattle_spring 10y ago
Commissions are per trade, not per share...

paulgb 10y ago

I use robinhood even though I have a "proper" brokerage account. I would be happy to pay an $8 commission if I knew what I was getting for the money over what robinhood offered, but as far as I can tell I'd just be paying $8 to use a crappier UI to make my trades.

tanderson92 10y ago
But as already mentioned, this entire portfolio can be constructed at Vanguard with commission-free trades. Their brokerage is better than Robinhood too (fractional shares for one, better execution)
- paulgb 10y ago
  > fractional shares for one, better execution Thanks, this is the sort of answer I was looking for. I just added a brokerage account to my Vanguard 401k account, and I will use that for ETFs from now on.