Key Takeaways
- Robinhood Markets Inc. said it will again attempt to launch its platform in the U.K. in the coming weeks, with a full rollout early next year.
- Through the Robinhood platform, U.K. traders will get access to 6,000 U.S. stocks, waived foreign exchange fees, 24-hour trading, and 5% interest on their cash.
- It is the third attempt by Robinhood to launch in the country and marks its international debut.
Stock-trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) on Thursday said it plans its international debut in the U.K. market.
The company will start offering its commission-free trading platform to select U.K. customers, with a full rollout coming early next year. This will be Robinhood’s third attempt to launch its products in the U.K.
Robinhood users in the U.K. will be able to access more than 6,000 U.S.-listed stocks and American depositary receipts (ADRs) without foreign exchange fees, outside of U.S. market hours trading, and with no account minimums. They also will have access to a 5% annual equivalent rate (AER)—the interest rate for an investment product with more than one compounding period—for any cash holdings but there will be no initial support for U.K. stocks.
The company scrapped its initial attempt to expand into the U.K. in 2019, despite having thousands of investors on a waiting list then. The company at shifted to focus on growing U.S. demand.
The company tried again in 2022 with the announcement that it was buying U.K. crypto firm Ziglu, but the deal was later dropped.
Robinhood went public in the U.S. via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021 and has 23 million domestic customers.
“For too long, U.K. investors have incurred high fees to invest in the U.S. markets and earned low returns on their uninvested cash,” said Jordan Sinclair, president of Robinhood U.K. in a prepared statement. “This is just the beginning for Robinhood U.K. and our global ambitions.”
Shares of Robinhood jumped early Thursday after the U.K. launch was announced, but fell back to decline roughly 1% by midday.
