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Not sure if this is frontrunning exactly but I think the point is that they make money by marketing your trades. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4205379-robin

• benj111 7y ago
  That's not front running at all. In fact it's the perceived lack of front running risk by the buyers and sellers that make Robin Hood more valuable to Market Makers. A big institutional shareholder may very well know more than the Market Maker at the other end of the trade, that's a risk for them if the market moves against them. Robin Hood investors are far less likely to have that kind of information so there isn't the same risk that market makers will get shafted.
  • semi-extrinsic 7y ago
    > In fact it's the perceived lack of front running risk by the buyers and sellers that make Robin Hood more valuable to Market Makers. Basically, you get a discount trading on Robin Hood, because the people taking the other side of the bet know that you're probably not making a smart move.
    • benj111 7y ago
      Last time i explained the concept I was even less polite and got downvoted :) but yes
• sweeneyrod 7y ago
  That's the opposite of front-running. If the brokerage or HFT was front-running, you would pay more to buy or sell than e.g. Goldman Sachs would. But payment for order flow means you pay less, because the brokerage is confident that as a retail investor you don't have an edge -- there is no risk of you buying just before the price shoots up and leaving them at a loss.