What’s Good in the Robinhood? How to Invest in Stocks in the Digital Age

By: burgundy bug

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The Robinhood App on the iPhone X

Source: Robinhood App | Penelope Peru Photography P³

Robinhood is a commission free stock trading app that couldn’t make it any easier to invest in the digital age. With the press of a button, you can cut out the middle man and trade your funds directly onto the U.S. Stock Exchange. 

Founded in 2014, Robinhood Markets, Inc. – more commonly referred to as Robinhood – is a brokerage firm based right out of Menlo Park, CA with their very own mobile app.

Robinhood is available across both Android and iOS devices in the Google Play Store and App Store, respectively.

You may also utilize the platform through your Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer 11, or Safari browser.

Through the Robinhood mobile app, users have the ability to invest, trade, and buy both stocks and crypto currencies at the press of a button without paying a single commission fee. 

The Robinhood app is incredible safe and secure. Regulated by the SEC, funds of up to $250,000 are insured. 

The commission free trading keeps Robinhood at the top of the stock-trading app food chain. In 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported the platform had a value of $1.3 billion. 

Now, as 2018 draws to a close, the Wall Street Journal reports the value of Robinhood has more than quadrupled, with an approximated value of $5.6 billion. 

What’s Good in the Robinhood?

How to Invest in Stocks in the Digital Age

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The Robinhood App on the iPhone X

Source: Robinhood App | Penelope Peru Photography P³

Simple and easy to navigate, being user friendly seems to be at the heart of Robinhood’s beautiful design. 

Real talk? It seriously could not be any easier to jump on the Robinhood bandwagon.

In order to create an account, you…

• Have to be 18 years or older.
• Have a valid Social Security Number (SSN).
• Have to be a legal citizen of the United States with a permanent residency within one of the 50 states or Puerto Rico (in some cases, a valid U.S. Visa may be enough to qualify).

In order to verify your account, you will also need to provide your SSN and a photograph of your I.D.

Qualifying forms of identification include: 

• A Driver’s License
• A State I.D.
• A Passport Photo Page
• A Bank Statement
• A Social Security Card
• A Permanent Residency Card
• A 3210 Letter

It may take up to 24 hours to have your account verified, however my account was approved in less than five minutes.

Linking your bank account is painless, especially if you are with a major financial institution. In the case of smaller banks, you must manually input your account and routing number. 

You may link either a savings or checking account, however Robinhood suggests linking a checking account to avoid potential transfer reversals. 

As a millennial myself, I had painted this stuffy and intimidating image of the stock market within my imagination. I always thought of it as the sort of thing that should be left to grandfathers or business socialites chatting over martinis in their suits that are the price of a semester’s tuition at my community college. 

Robinhood has completely redrawn how I regard the stock market. Cutting out the middleman, I am able to invest instantly at will with the press of a button. 

Of course, it’s important not to get too excited once your account has been verified on Robinhood. While smart investments could yield profits of 200%, 300%, and beyond, there is always a bit of risk involved when investing on the stock exchange. 

Don’t go throwing your hard-earned (or hard-inherited, I’m sure you had to kiss somebody’s butt to secure a spot in their will) cash around all willy-nilly. Money is money, after all.

I highly suggested conducting at least five minutes worth of research and watching the company you’re interested in for a few days (if not weeks) before trading any stocks. 

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The Robinhood App on the iPhone X

Source: Robinhood App | Penelope Peru Photography P³

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