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Brokers / Robinhood
BROKER RIGOR REPORT · VERIFIED 11 OCT 2026

Robinhood: what the sources say

70
Evidence 100%

Key facts

The questions, with sources

QuestionWhat the sources saySource
Main entity
Robinhood Financial LLC (introducing broker-dealer) with Robinhood Securities, LLC (clearing/custody); parent Robinhood Markets, Inc., United States (default entity for US customers); UK customers use Robinhood U.K. Ltd
Listed parent
yes: Robinhood Markets, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOD)
Regulation
Major regulator. SEC / FINRA (US): Robinhood Financial, LLC (CRD 165998) and Robinhood Securities, LLC (CRD 287900) per FINRA AWC of March 2025 (finra.org PDF). RHS audited statement of financial condition filed with the SEC (Form X-17A-5, FY2023) states it is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer and is a FINRA and SIPC member. FINRA BrokerCheck firm page did not appear in search results and was not opened; CFTC / NFA (US): 10-K states futures brokerage subsidiary is overseen by CFTC and NFA; FCA (UK): Robinhood U.K. Ltd, FRN 823590; register link as given on the Robinhood UK FAQ page (company states 'authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority'). The FCA register page itself was not opened (did not appear in search results)
Compensation scheme
Yes. SIPC (US); FSCS only for UK ISA cash held by Quai Investment Services Limited SIPC: up to USD 500,000 per customer including USD 250,000 for cash claims; excess policy: USD 1 billion aggregate, capped at USD 50 million per customer including USD 1.9 million cash; USD cash sweep to program banks for FDIC coverage up to USD 2.5 million total (USD 250,000 per bank); UK: FSCS does not apply to uninvested brokerage cash
Client assets separated
Yes. Robinhood Securities audited statement of financial condition (FY2023, filed with SEC): 'required to segregate cash for the exclusive benefit of customers, as defined by SEC Rule 15c3-3'; USD 4,357 million segregated for customers at 31 Dec 2023. UK protection PDF: futures assets held in a customer segregated funds account under CFTC rules; no CASS statement for UK customers (assets custodied at RHS in the US)
Public financials
Yes. Parent Robinhood Markets, Inc. files Form 10-K with the SEC (FY2025 filed)
Who can open an account
US: main entity. UK: Robinhood U.K. Ltd requires UK National Insurance number, UK bank account, UK address, UK tax residency, non-US person, age 18+. 10-K also mentions EU (crypto, stock tokens, via Lithuania) and Singapore (licence application pending). Full country list not verified
Markets
US customers: US-listed stocks/ETFs. UK customers: US exchange-listed stocks and ADRs only. Fractional shares: stocks and ETFs listed on national exchanges, orders from USD 1; most stocks over USD 1/share with market cap over USD 25 million eligible (US support page)
ETFs / fractional shares
ETFs: yes. Fractional shares: yes.
US stock commission
USD 0 for US-listed equities including ETFs in self-directed accounts (RHF fee schedule); regulatory pass-through fees apply on sells (SEC fee USD 20.60 per USD 1 million of principal, not passed on for sales of USD 500 or less; TAF USD 0.000195 per share capped at USD 9.79, paused 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026)
Cost to buy 1,000 USD
0%. Commission 0 on a buy; regulatory fees are charged on sells only
Currency conversion
UK: GBP/USD conversion 0.1% during FX market hours, 0.3% Fridays 5pm-9pm ET, included in rate shown. US fee schedule: foreign transaction fee USD 0 (Mastercard may charge conversion on debit card)
Inactivity / account / withdrawal
USD 0 (inactive account fee) per fee schedule; USD 0 to open or maintain; ADR custodial fees from issuing banks typically USD 0.01-0.03 per share; Outgoing ACATS transfer USD 100; outgoing wire USD 25; incoming wire USD 0 (fee-schedule text was hard to parse; positions matched by label)

"Not verified" means we could not confirm it from a source we could read. Check the entity and rules for your own country. Education only, not investment advice.

Score

How the points add up

  • Regulation 20 of 20. Licensed by a major financial regulator (see the broker page for the register entry)
  • Client protection 20 of 20. Investor compensation scheme applies: SIPC (US); FSCS only for UK ISA cash held by Quai Investment Services Limited; Client assets held separately from the broker's own (stated in its documents)
  • Transparency 10 of 10. Annual financial statements are public (listed parent or published report)
  • Security record 6 of 15. Worst incident in the last five years scored: 6 of 15
  • Compliance record 4 of 25. 3 regulator or court action(s) in the window; reports from press only are shown but not scored
  • Costs 10 of 10. Buying 1,000 USD of a US stock or ETF: 0% commission at the published base tier (FX and spread not included)

Points earned of points available. A criterion we could not verify is left out and lowers the evidence share. See how we score.

Record

Security incidents

  • 2021-11-03 Unauthorized third party socially engineered a customer-support employee by phone, accessed customer-support systems and obtained data of about 7 million people (about 5 million email addresses, about 2 million full names, about 310 names with birth dates and ZIP codes, about 10 with more extensive account details); extortion payment demanded; disclosed 2021-11-08 Customer funds lost: no. Outcome: Press (Fortune, InvestmentNews): company said no SSNs, bank account or card numbers exposed and it believed no financial loss to any customer; law enforcement informed, Mandiant engaged. SEC settled order of 2025-01-13 cites failure to address a known remote-access vulnerability (June-Nov 2021) preceding this download source
  • 2020-10 OLDER THAN WINDOW: limited number of customer accounts taken over after attackers compromised customers' personal email accounts; Bloomberg estimate cited of about 2,000 accounts; Robinhood said its platform was not breached Customer funds lost: not verified. Outcome: Press (Crowdfund Insider 2020-10-16): accounts restricted on report, 2FA urged; financial losses not stated. FINRA AWC of March 2025 separately cites undetected account takeovers (AML findings) source older than 5 years
Record

Regulator and court actions

  • 2025-01-13 SEC: Settled charges against Robinhood Securities LLC and Robinhood Financial LLC: late suspicious activity reports, inadequate identity-theft policies, unaddressed vulnerability (Nov 2021 data download), off-channel communications, records retention, blue sheet data (Securities), Regulation SHO violations (Securities) Outcome: USD 45 million combined penalties (USD 33.5m Robinhood Securities, USD 11.5m Robinhood Financial); censures; internal audit and remediation certification required source
  • 2025-03 FINRA: Settlement without admitting or denying: AML program failures, undetected account takeovers, clearing system delays response in Jan 2021, blue sheet reporting, inaccurate collaring disclosure, social-media influencer supervision Outcome: FINRA news release (7 Mar 2025): USD 26 million fines and USD 3.75 million restitution to customers; censure. AWC PDF (finra.org, March 2025) names Robinhood Financial, LLC (CRD 165998) and Robinhood Securities, LLC (CRD 287900) and lists violations incl. collaring disclosures, AML/CIP, Sickle clearing system supervision 2020-2021, influencer posts, about 116,000 improperly rejected ACATS transfers, blue sheets/trade reporting, trades during halts: https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/robinhood-AWC-030725.pdf. Earlier press source: https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/from-the-regulators/finra-fines-robinhood-26-million-for-rules-violations/ source
  • 2022-08-01 NYDFS: Consent order against Robinhood Crypto, LLC (crypto affiliate): ineffective BSA/AML program, cybersecurity regulation non-compliance, supervisory agreement breaches Outcome: USD 30 million penalty plus independent compliance consultant for 18 months (law-firm summary) Official DFS press release dated 2 Aug 2022 confirms USD 30 million penalty and independent consultant; the 18-month term was not stated on that page. Earlier press source: https://www.cliffordchance.com/insights/resources/blogs/talking-tech/en/articles/2022/08/nydfs-flexes-enforcement-muscle-in-crypto-markets-with--30-milli.html source

Actions reported by press only are shown and not scored.

Summary

Key facts in five lines

  • Robinhood Financial LLC and Robinhood Securities, LLC are SIPC members; SIPC covers up to USD 500,000 including USD 250,000 cash, with an excess policy of USD 1 billion aggregate [source 1].
  • US-listed stocks and ETFs carry USD 0 commission; regulatory fees apply on sells; fractional shares from USD 1 [source 2][source 3][source 11].
  • Robinhood Securities states in its SEC-filed statement of financial condition that it segregates customer cash under SEC Rule 15c3-3 (USD 4,357 million at 31 Dec 2023) [source 10].
  • SEC announced USD 45 million combined penalties on 2025-01-13 and FINRA USD 26 million fines plus USD 3.75 million restitution in March 2025 [source 5][source 9].
  • A November 2021 breach exposed data of about 7 million people with an extortion demand; the company said it believed no customer suffered financial loss [source 6].
Questions

Questions about Robinhood

Is Robinhood safe?

We do not give a yes or no. We record its regulation (SEC / FINRA, CFTC / NFA), whether an investor compensation scheme applies, and what we found about incidents and regulator actions. Read the sections above, and check which entity holds your account.

Does Robinhood charge commission on US stocks?

USD 0 for US-listed equities including ETFs in self-directed accounts (RHF fee schedule); regulatory pass-through fees apply on sells (SEC fee USD 20.60 per USD 1 million of principal, not passed on for sales of USD 500 or less; TAF USD 0.000195 per share capped at USD 9.79, paused 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026)

Sources

Where this comes from

Not verified: FINRA BrokerCheck firm page and the FCA register page were not opened (neither appeared in search results); SEC/FINRA status is instead taken from the SEC-filed X-17A-5 of Robinhood Securities and the FINRA AWC, and the FCA register URL from the company's own page. Three incident searches (2021-10-11 onward) surfaced only the Nov 2021 breach and older events; no post-2021 breach, hack or compensated outage was found, which is not proof none occurred. Segregation verified for US clearing entity only, as of FY2023. Full country coverage not verified. Fee-schedule PDF layout was hard to parse; withdrawal amounts matched by label position.

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