Robinhood eyes 'symbiotic relationship' between robo, TradePMR advisors

Automated advisor platform Robinhood Strategies just crossed $1 billion in assets under management across 180,000 funded accounts, as the brokerage giant envisions a potential crossover with its robo-product and RIA custodian TradePMR serving financial advisors.

“Robinhood Strategies doesn't right now give financial planning advice or estate planning advice, things that really come from an advisor and a one-on-one conversation,” Robinhood chief investment officer Steph Guild told InvestmentNews. “One of my longer-term goals would be to offer our portfolios to the TradePMR platform similar to the way you might see it in other places where their inherent portfolios are offered to their advisor network. I think it could be a symbiotic relationship.”

This week’s $1B milestone at Robinhood Strategies comes about seven months after it launched in March, charging a .25% annual management fee for actively managed portfolios that invest in stocks and ETFs. Website branding for Robinhood Strategies reads “This is more than a robo advisor.” Guild said the company instead refers to its platform as a “digital advisor.” Robinhood Strategies users receive market insights via in-app voice recordings from Guild.

“Whenever we make a change to your portfolio or whenever something meaningful happens in the market that is worth a conversation or a discussion, we leave customized messages in your dashboard, and you can read them or listen to them. So it's almost like a little mini podcast shows up in your dashboard from us,” Guild said. “Whenever we do put an insight out, we do see there is a correlation with deposits into people's managed accounts.”

Robinhood accelerated its push beyond retail investing into the financial advisor market a year ago with its $300 million acquisition of RIA custodian TradePMR. Robinhood plans to launch a client referral program for advisors through TradePMR. TradePMR founder Robb Baldwin told InvestmentNews last month that it has courted 40 large RIAs to consider the referral program. 

Guild, referencing a survey Robinhood conducted last year with Boston Consulting Group and the World Economic Forum, said that young investors’ appetite for a hybrid model mixing automated services with some advice from humans will be central to Robinhood’s offerings.

“As the world moves to be more technology heavy and more younger generations have a need for a human advisor, I think you could have a world in which Robinhood Strategies is managing your assets and providing that core aspect to an advice relationship,” Guild said. “And you have access to a human you can talk to, you can do your annual planning. You're not necessarily doing every single thing with them, because technology has enabled a different relationship.”

Robinhood’s public stock made its debut into the S&P 500 last month, having surged over 400 percent since its November 2024 acquisition announcement of TradePMR. Robinhood’s array of other product pushes have included prediction markets for users to wager money on the outcome of sporting events, an upcoming social media platform, and an alternative investment fund to give retail investors exposure to private companies.