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SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

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Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#281

If the SEC has gone through and has accounted for the 34 million in cost to consumers, why are they not having robinhood reimburse the customers for their lost money on the trades and then charging the additional 30 million on top for lying? Why does the SEC take all the money?

It would be (at best) pennies per client. Also, the SEC needs the funding for future investigations.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#282
post #146
post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is front running and illegal.

Yes, exactly. That's what this submission and charge by the SEC is all about. Is everyone just forgetting the entire purpose of this submission is that Robinhood used pay for order flow to facilitate front running?

That's not what they charged with. What they charged with:

- You trying to buy 100 shares for $100 each - Someone is selling 100 shares for $98 each - RH supposed to fill order at best price ($98) - RH didn't do that.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW InteractiveBrokers, in their Pro accounts (the one you pay albeit very low commission fees for) doesn't accept payment for order flow. Their Lite accounts (the one they launched to compete with RobinHood) do accept PFOF. [1, 2] [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-brokers-fees-idUSKBN1... [2] https://gdcdyn.interactivebrokers.com/Universal/servlet/Regi...

Why IBKR over, say Schwab or Vanguard?

Crispier fills. And you can choose which exchange you route your orders to so you can get rebates (maker/taker model). Getting paid to open/close options positions is genius.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The claim is that they sold that deal flow in a sub-optimal way that is expressly prohibited from them doing, and it led to consumers not getting the price that they, by law, should have been given.

If that’s indeed the case then we should throw the book at them. Breaking the law is different than selling a service for free and monetizing your consumers.

> Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Robinhood agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the recordkeeping provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Oh, don't worry. Robinhood agreed to sign a piece of paper agreeing that it wouldn't break the law any more.

And just to be clear, this isn't the first time that Robinhood has blatently broken the existing laws and regulation.

The "infinite money" "glitch" is a situation which is straight-up codified to be not allowed (for obvious reasons). They were either incompetent or negligent.

They attempted to release a "bank account" product and claimed it would be covered by insurance which it would not be. Again, either incompetence, or negligence.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#285
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SEC doesn't work on behalf of consumers, it works on behalf of the federal government. Robinhood customers are still free to bring lawsuits against the company and those would be heard in courts.

The SEC's stated mission is "to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation." I would equate Robinhood consumers with investors. And plaintiff securities class action law firms are undoubtedly drafting complaints as we type.

The idea is that the SEC doesn't represent investors in court. They aren't suing for actual damages (losses) incurred by the investors. They are assessing Robinhood with a penalty (fine) for violating a regulation.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW InteractiveBrokers, in their Pro accounts (the one you pay albeit very low commission fees for) doesn't accept payment for order flow. Their Lite accounts (the one they launched to compete with RobinHood) do accept PFOF. [1, 2] [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-brokers-fees-idUSKBN1... [2] https://gdcdyn.interactivebrokers.com/Universal/servlet/Regi...

Why IBKR over, say Schwab or Vanguard?

Depends on the size of your account and how you trade, and what you're looking to get out of it.

If you have an account value of over $110,000 IBKR will offer you the industry's lowest margin rates (as low as 0.75%, tax deductible) and very competitive order pricing, without PFOF. Of course with a substantial account you can ask any of them to match IBKR margin rates and they likely will.

I sell a lot of margin-secured put options for passive income, and having a 15% portfolio margin maintenance requirement gives me a lot of headroom -- not that I'd ever max it out, I just don't want to be anywhere close. Further the margin impact of out of the money options is also calculated generously.

They also offer access to basically any product in any market anywhere in the world. I sell index futures options in the US for instance, but if you want to trade on Canadian, European, Australian or Asian exchanges, it's just a button click away.

You can also practice tax-aware borrowing and use their debit card to make purchases against your margin, and also, they offer bill pay which works against your margin balance too. My personal economy involves holding a 6-month cash buffer in my bank account, and investing anything that comes in - and borrowing against it to pay bills. Then, I use the proceeds from my short-term options trades, and dividends from my longer-term positions, to pay them off.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#287
post #178

To add a bit of context: brokerages like Robinhood send buy/sell orders to national exchanges and to private trading firms e.g. high-frequency traders. Private firms provide price improvement: orders that execute at prices better than the national exchange. All brokerages have a duty of best execution, including a duty of price improvement. Brokerages can also receive payment for order flow from private firms, as lon…

Thanks for answering my question how Robinhood, Traderepublic and so on make money.

This is one way they make money. Robinhood is free because it makes interest on the money you ACH transfer in that sits while you make your decision on what to buy. They have a big bank account holding all of the user's funds and get interest on it. Of course they cannot make interest on the money traded for a stock though.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW InteractiveBrokers, in their Pro accounts (the one you pay albeit very low commission fees for) doesn't accept payment for order flow. Their Lite accounts (the one they launched to compete with RobinHood) do accept PFOF. [1, 2] [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-brokers-fees-idUSKBN1... [2] https://gdcdyn.interactivebrokers.com/Universal/servlet/Regi...

Why IBKR over, say Schwab or Vanguard?

Does Vanguard provide an api? I use them for my three fund portfolio but use td ameritrade for swing trading as I can automate my strategy. Would be nice to keep it all in vanguard.

Re: SEC charges Robinhood $65M for misleading customers about revenue sources

#289

> As the SEC’s order finds, one of Robinhood’s selling points to customers was that trading was “commission free,” but due in large part to its unusually high payment for order flow rates, Robinhood customers’ orders were executed at prices that were inferior to other brokers’ prices. Despite this, according to the SEC’s order, Robinhood falsely claimed in a website FAQ between October 2018 and June 2019 that its exe…

A whole lot of financial/securities regulation revolves around messaging. You are allowed to do many things as long as you are transparent about them, conversely you have to be extremely careful about saying anything lest it be interpreted to mean something unintended.
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