Robinhood CEO: Our Business Has Come Under Attack By Critics Who Say Our Platform Is 'Gamified'

“Out-of-touch investors” are attacking commission-free, no minimum brokerages, says Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD CEO Vlad Tenev.

What Happened: In a recent opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, Tenev said the business has “come under attack by critics” who insist the platform is “gamified.”

“They point to features such as lists of stocks and exchange-traded funds that help people discover investments and notifications about stock movements that help them stay informed,” said Tenev.

“Investing isn’t a game, but must it be grim and difficult to understand?”

In his view, platforms like Robinhood helped people who had been left behind by Wall Street create wealth like never before.

“Following Robinhood’s lead, many brokerages across the industry dropped commissions in late 2019 after charging them for decades. By one estimate, this put about $13 billion back in the hands of retail investors,” he said.

Critics have publicly denounced these retail investors themselves and not just the modern investing platforms chosen by them, the CEO wrote. 

Some critics have even suggested that new investors are “uninformed gamblers looking to get rich quick,” said Tenev.

“Not only are these stereotypes offensive, but the data tell a far different story.”

The CEO went on to address the controversy around payment for order flow — one of Robinhood’s primary sources of income.

“A ban on payment for order flow is unlikely to help retail investors get better prices and would likely re-erect barriers that kept so many out of the market,” argued Tenev.

“One wonders whether the push to ban payment for order flow and overregulate modern design is about investor protection or really about control.”

HOOD Price Action: Robinhood shares were down 1.59% premarket Tuesday at $44.05.