TradePMR is debuting a 50 basis point (0.50%) Asset Match offering to RIAs and their clients ahead of the Robinhood-owned custodian’s much-anticipated RIA referral program launch.
Cash-back incentives are common in retail banking, but TradePMR says its Asset Match is a first of its kind program offered by an RIA custodian. Asset Match will apply to cash and most securities deposited into TradePMR accounts from October 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026. Assets such as private placements and annuities are not eligible for the program. Clients should expect to see the match in their accounts at the end of the month following the month in which the triggering deposit or transfer was made.
“There's no limitations on this whatsoever,” TradePMR general manager Robb Baldwin told InvestmentNews. “Every dollar in will benefit. That way it allows a $10 million deposit to net $50,000. It's great for large accounts, but it's also great for small accounts. Everybody can participate and get an increase from this match.”
Matches from TradePMR will be reported as interest or miscellaneous income. Baldwin, who founded TradePMR in 1998 before selling the firm to Robinhood for $300 million in November 2024, believes Asset Match is a “tangible” advantage for RIAs and their clients in the RIA custodian market led by Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing.
“I think this is the exact time and the perfect opportunity for TradePMR and Robinhood to do this because many custodians run retail businesses that compete directly with advisors for end-client relationships, and we do not. So this Asset Match program underscores the difference. Rather than channeling incentives toward retail clients, we're channeling them directly to RIA clients. That's a big competitive difference."
Baldwin’s comments allude to moves like those from Charles Schwab, who planned outreach to wealthy clients of RIAs to promote Schwab’s own in-house investment offerings. InvestmentNews reported in July the planned outreach was canceled after advisors took issue with Schwab’s retail brokerage business seemingly encroaching on clients of RIAs who custody assets with Schwab.
“We are RIA-focused. We believe right now is no better time to be focused because our competition seems to be going the opposite direction,” Baldwin said. “They're hiring internal advisors. They're limiting their referral programs to keep assets from going into the advisor channels long term, and we want advisors to know we are pro-RIA.”
Prominent RIA industry figure Joe Duran says Asset Match uniquely positions TradePMR in a custodian market that typically pitches technology and white-glove services as factors to distinguish from competitors. “Direct economic incentives like this are far less common, which is why this program stands out. This will resonate most with people in the accumulation phase, eager to build wealth when every dollar counts," said Duran, whose Rise Growth Partners has invested in RIAs OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners and Grimes & Company.
TradePMR had approximately 350 advisory firms on its platform and $43 billion in assets under management as of the end of the second quarter. The firm has had a long-standing clearing partnership with Wells Fargo that has not yet changed since Robinhood’s acquisition.
“Our assets are still with Wells Fargo and will be for a while,” said Baldwin. “Wells Fargo offers, through TradePMR, all the wire house services that large advisors like to have. That's the assets we're attracting. We're not attracting small accounts or small advisors at all.”
Regarding Robinhood's upcoming RIA client referral program, Baldwin said, “we're going to announce at the end of the year exactly when we plan on launching that.” The upcoming six-month test for Asset Match will be used to “figure out if it's a long-term benefit and something we can combine with a referral program or combine in other ways,” he added.
“Our average account size is way up compared to our competitors' models. We deal with large advisors. Just to give you an idea, this Asset Match [and] our referral program that we're about to announce, has attracted 40 of the largest firms in the country who all want to be a part of it and all want to do business with us,” Baldwin told InvestmentNews. “I do expect this to be a game changer long term for those who had a bad perception of how Robinhood entered the space.”
Update: This story has been updated to include comments from Joe Duran, managing partner of Rise Growth Partners.
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