Robinhood review - does it work for couples?

What is Robinhood and what are they known for?

Robinhood is an investing platform that is designed with the beginner investor in mind.  They have one of the simplest user interfaces out there, and offer a surprising amount of functionality given their simplistic design.  Robinhood is best known for pioneering the “no-fee” brokerage account.  Prior to their founding, most brokerages would charge between $9 and $50 per transaction, just to buy or sell stock.  Robinhood accounts allow users to trade stocks and ETFs, fractional shares, options, and crypto without having to pay for a subscription.  

They provide three types of services that fit different stages of a person’s financial journey:

• Intuitive stock/ETF/option trading 

• Tutorials, articles, and investment research (with Robinhood Gold)

• The ability to open both Traditional and Roth IRAs

Robinhood was cofounded in 2013 by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, and has grown to be one of the largest investment platforms in the US, with the company going public on the Nasdaq in July of 2021.

Who is Robinhood for?

Robinhood is designed to work for everyone, with its easy to use interface.  However, the Robinhood team has decided to focus mainly on: 

• Gen Z investors

• Investing beginners

The platform is built to be used by yourself or shared with a partner, as you can open both individual and joint accounts through Robinhood.

Source: Robinhood website as of July 2024

What is Robinhood’s Pricing Structure?

Robinhood operates using a “freemium” model, with users of the free version of the app being able to access all of the main selling points of the app, such as free stock/ETF/option/crypto trading, and their easy to use interface.  For those looking for some additional perks and investment research, you may want to consider a Robinhood Gold subscription.  

Their Gold subscription costs $5/month or $50/year, and comes with the following perks:

• 3% IRA matching on every dollar, each year

• Unlimited deposit boost, allowing users to earn an additional 1% on every eligible deposit

• The ability to apply for a Robinhood Gold Credit Card

• Access up to $50,000 in deposits instantly each day - no waiting for the transfer to clear

• Earn 5% APY on uninvested cash in your Robinhood Gold Account

• Access to Level 2 Morningstar Data to research investments

• 0% margin loan interest on the first $1,000 borrowed

What investment offerings does Robinhood have

• ETFs 

• Stocks (With the option to buy Fractional Shares)

• Stock Options

• Fractional Shares

• Cryptocurrency

• Account types: 

  • Individual, Self-Directed Brokerage

  • Roth IRA

  • Traditional IRA

Does Robinhood work for couples?

Robinhood enables do-it-yourself investing in joint accounts. Robinhood does not give you a picture of your finances together nor does it help you track where your money is going.

How to keep using Robinhood if you’re married

If you already have a Robinhood account, you can now create a joint account. However, if you want your partner to see what you have in your existing Robinhood account you’ll need to use a platform like Plenty to track your accounts. That makes it easy to understand what you and your partner have together, especially when you’re tracking towards goals like buying a house. 

Plenty’s dashboard provides two views of your finances: what’s ours and what’s mine. You can connect all your credit cards, bank accounts, student loans, etc, and flexibly label accounts as shared / visible or private. That then provides one view where you can see all the things you own together and separately. Plenty then takes all the credit card and bank account data to help you track your spending (by category and merchant), and how much you’re both saving / investing. 

If you plan to continue using Robinhood or already have an account, Plenty is an easy way to start managing money with your partner while continuing to use Robinhood.

Can we organize our investments in Robinhood?

If you’d like to keep your investments and savings organized, you won’t be able to do that easily in Robinhood. Robinhood currently only allows you to open up 1 individual investing account and 1 joint investing account and all investments are lumped together. If you’d like to keep your investments organized in buckets/goals, you’ll need to use another platform. Couples commonly use Robinhood for their small investment picks of companies that they like, while using roboadvisors like Plenty to automatically create diversified portfolios that are usually lower risk than stock picking.

Interested in trying Plenty out? Start your 1 month free trial today or book an onboarding call to learn more.

Sources

Frankel, Matt and Cole Tretheway. “Is Robinhood Gold Worth It?.” The Ascent: A Motley Fool Service, 18 July 2024, www.fool.com/the-ascent/buying-stocks/is-robinhood-gold-worth-it/#:~:text=How%20much%20does%20Robinhood%20Gold,a%2030%2Dday%20free%20trial. 

Robinhood, www.robinhood.com/us/en/gold.

Birken, Emily. “Robinhood Review 2024.” Forbes Advisor, 25 June 2024, www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/robinhood-review/.

Friedberg, Barbara. “Robinhood Broker Review.” US News & World Report, 12 Apr. 2024, www.money.usnews.com/investing/best-brokers/robinhood.

About Plenty

Plenty is an investment platform designed specifically for couples to build wealth, together. We go beyond budgeting, making it simple to invest, save and grow towards your future goals by unlocking access to the financial strategies of the wealthy. Ready to get started? Sign up for your 1 month free trial today.

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The information provided herein is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered individualized recommendations or personalized investment advice. The type of strategies mentioned may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor should evaluate an investment strategy based on their unique circumstances before making any investment decisions.

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. Examples provided are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to be reflective of results you can expect to achieve.

Tax-loss harvesting involves certain risks, including, among others, the risk that the new investment could have higher costs than the original investment and could introduce portfolio tracking error into your accounts. There may also be unintended tax implications. We recommend that you consult a tax professional before taking action.

Plenty does not provide legal or tax advice. Where specific advice is necessary or appropriate, individuals should contact their own professional tax and investment advisors or other professionals (CPA, Financial Planner, Investment Manager) to help answer questions about specific situations or needs prior to taking any action based upon this information.

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