Plus, Vlad shared how his own experience in wealth management is shaping his
vision for the industry’s future.
In one of the most anticipated centerstage conversations at SYNERGY25, Robinhood
CEO and co-founder Vlad Tenev and TradePMR CEO and founder Robb Baldwin shared
their vision for the future. It was an opportunity for advisors to see how Robinhood’s
bold, high-growth model could benefit them and their clients as new technology and
demographic changes continue to catalyze industry changes.
Robinhood has made no secret about its ambitions to become a leading, unified platform for anyone to buy, sell, or hold any financial asset. It has already rewritten the rules of commission-based pricing, brought increased market accessibility via its mobile app, and is quickly expanding into credit cards and banking.
Having democratized financial services for self-directed investors, Robinhood now has its sights on bringing its strengths to registered independent advisors.
In their no-filter conversation, Robb and Vlad laid out a vision for using technology to create a bespoke, family office experience for a greater number of clients. They covered the promise of industry innovation and how Robinhood’s focus on active traders could translate into a better platform for financial advisors and their clients.
They also agreed that entrepreneurs like RIAs—with their high expectations—are some of their favorite clients.
A New Family Office Experience
Among the many changes coming for wealth management, Robb and Vlad offered a
glimpse of how white-glove family office experiences—now typically reserved for clients
with $250 million in assets or more—might be offered to clients at a lower asset
minimum. The need for change was accentuated when Vlad’s own wealth
management experience was affected by inadequate technology and a lack of
transparency.
After his own family office was acquired by a larger competitor, he began looking for
ways to consolidate and streamline a bevy of disparate systems. He was frustrated.
“My advisors are good people, and we have great relationships,” he said. “The impact of
that is sullied by having this crappy technology and poor system integrations.”
He realized there was no good way to aggregate and manage an entire family’s wealth.
“The existing custodial platforms aren’t even thinking about this as a problem that they
want to solve,” he said. The value of a single, unified platform would be immense, and
modern technology could make it a reality.
“My vision is: everyone should basically have a family office,” Vlad explained. “You
shouldn’t need to have $250+ million [in assets]. Technology can actually help
democratize that experience to folks who have $25+ million and eventually $5 million—
and possibly under. I think that’ll be exciting.”
The Active Trader Advantage
Since its founding, Robinhood has been all about finding an edge and maintaining it,
Vlad said. Active traders are key to that strategy.
A sophisticated cohort with acute needs, active traders are known for embracing
technology and demanding the best tools available. Their expectations push innovation
at Robinhood, he said.
“Building for active traders permeates all other businesses, including advisory…and
passive wealth management,” he explained. “We want an active trader to feel like
they’re at a disadvantage when using any other platform.”
He believes advisors, too, can reap this active trader advantage. Robinhood’s platform
supports what might sound like “science fiction” for some, with features like 24/5
trading and crypto access.
“All of the things that we build for self-directed investors are interesting for advisors,”
he said.
Entrepreneurs, Take a Bow
The entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well at SYNERGY25. As entrepreneurs
themselves, Robb and Vlad heaped praise on their fellow business owners, risk takers,
and innovators, echoing a message introduced in Robb’s opening keynote.
For Vlad, the opportunity to serve advisors is too promising to pass up.
“It’s a great customer base,” he said. “I love the idea of serving entrepreneurs and
helping them grow their businesses. This is another vector to do that.”
Robb challenged his fellow entrepreneurs to embrace disruption. The advisor space, he
said, is “more than ripe” for positive change, adding that Robinhood would help
TradePMR overtake old ways of doing business and work to position advisors to
succeed.
“That’s the runway that we get to have with Robinhood that we don’t have anywhere
else,” he said. He believes it equips TradePMR advisors with a platform that will
impress their clients.
Robinhood + TradePMR
As the session ended, Vlad and Robb reminded advisors of what’s at stake: a massive,
generational transfer of wealth1; the opportunity to build a business that succeeds
today and tomorrow; and the promise of better financial advice and wealth solutions for
a broader group of investors. It’s the type of career-defining scenario that favors careful
planning and bold action.
We’re ready for it. Are you?
Connect with us to see our next-gen solutions and learn how Robinhood + TradePMR
are working to power the next stage of growth.
About TradePMR
For more than two decades, TradePMR has worked with growth-minded independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), providing innovative technology tools and support designed to transform their businesses. The brokerage and custodian services provider (Member FINRA/SIPC), based in Gainesville, Fla., works to streamline investment advisors' operations through comprehensive custodial, operational, and trading support. For more information, visit www.TradePMR.com.
TradePMR is a subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc.
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1. https://www.cerulli.com/press-releases/cerulli-anticipates-124-trillion-in-wealth-will-transferthrough-2048
