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It's everyone's right to shoot themselves in the foot with dumb financial decisions. Robinhood isn't doing anything egregious here, they're only reducing fricti

It's everyone's right to shoot themselves in the foot with dumb financial decisions. Robinhood isn't doing anything egregious here, they're only reducing friction and fees. I've used the app sparingly in the past with "fun money" but haven't done serious investing with it.

elliekelly 7y ago
> It's everyone's right to shoot themselves in the foot with dumb financial decisions. The industry regulations would indicate otherwise. Generally, the “dumber” the money, the more regulatory protections that will apply. At their core, financial regulators are consumer protection entities.
- almost_usual 7y ago
  Nothing is stopping anyone from putting their life savings into a legal dumb investment. Regulators and the government sure won't stop you from liquidating your 401k early. At some point common sense comes into play and you need to be smart with your money.
  - mywittyname 7y ago
    The US SEC has accredited investor requirements specifically to keep people from being fooled into making "dumb" investments.
    - almost_usual 7y ago
      >US SEC has accredited investor requirements specifically to keep people from being fooled into making "dumb" investments What stops me from liquidating my 401k and investing all of my money into a company that misses their earning goals this week? Where does the US SEC come into play here?
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
- LanceH 7y ago
  How is robinhood any different than all the other online brokers, except that they charge less?
  - jazzyjackson 7y ago
    Do other brokers let you trade on margin?
    - alrehn 7y ago
      Yes
    - tick_tock_tick 7y ago
      Absolutely
- bduerst 7y ago
  Not really - the regulations are more or less in place to try to soften the impact of the dumb decisions (when they do happen), not to remove the freedom to make said dumb decisions.
webninja 7y ago
You can still legally bet your whole life savings on one spin of the roulette wheel. Here’s a guy that did just that: https://youtu.be/zGCdBsOIKYA https://youtu.be/zGCdBsOIKYA Doesn’t mean you should though. Also Vegas doesn’t have the reputation for capital preservation and growth that brokerages have.

elliekelly 7y ago

> It's everyone's right to shoot themselves in the foot with dumb financial decisions. The industry regulations would indicate otherwise. Generally, the “dumber” the money, the more regulatory protections that will apply. At their core, financial regulators are consumer protection entities.

almost_usual 7y ago
Nothing is stopping anyone from putting their life savings into a legal dumb investment. Regulators and the government sure won't stop you from liquidating your 401k early. At some point common sense comes into play and you need to be smart with your money.
- mywittyname 7y ago
  The US SEC has accredited investor requirements specifically to keep people from being fooled into making "dumb" investments.
  - almost_usual 7y ago
    >US SEC has accredited investor requirements specifically to keep people from being fooled into making "dumb" investments What stops me from liquidating my 401k and investing all of my money into a company that misses their earning goals this week? Where does the US SEC come into play here?
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
LanceH 7y ago
How is robinhood any different than all the other online brokers, except that they charge less?
- jazzyjackson 7y ago
  Do other brokers let you trade on margin?
  - alrehn 7y ago
    Yes
  - tick_tock_tick 7y ago
    Absolutely
bduerst 7y ago
Not really - the regulations are more or less in place to try to soften the impact of the dumb decisions (when they do happen), not to remove the freedom to make said dumb decisions.

webninja 7y ago

You can still legally bet your whole life savings on one spin of the roulette wheel. Here’s a guy that did just that: https://youtu.be/zGCdBsOIKYA https://youtu.be/zGCdBsOIKYA Doesn’t mean you should though. Also Vegas doesn’t have the reputation for capital preservation and growth that brokerages have.