Robinhood to Acquire TradePMR, Expanding Into RIA Wealth Management
The firm known for stock trading will connect users to financial advisers, expanding further into financial services after entering retirement savings about two years ago.
Robinhood Markets Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire Trade-PMR Inc., a custodial and portfolio management platform for registered investment advisers, as part of its move into wealth management.
TradePMR, with $40 billion in assets under administration, is expected to bolster Robinhood’s offerings by providing fiduciary financial advisory services tailored to individual investors; the acquisition marks Robinhood’s entry into the $7 trillion RIA market.
It is also another expansion of financial service offerings from the firm known for its stock trading app. In late 2022, Robinhood announced entered retirement savings by offering an individual retirement account with a 1% match to entice uptake. In 2023, leadership noted on an earnings call that Robinhood may also move into personalized advisory experiences—something the TradePMR acquisition can bring by way of RIA services.
The acquisition, valued at approximately $300 million in cash and stock, is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Robinhood plans to create a referral program that connects RIAs to Robinhood’s client base of more than 24 million funded accounts, according to the announcement. TradePMR’s RIAs will gain access to a new pool of potential clients, leveraging Robinhood’s technology to scale their businesses.
Robinhood stated that the acquisition aligns with the firm’s mission to cater to its predominantly Millennial and Generation Z customers, who hold about 75% of the platform’s accounts and will be recipients of what firms such as Bank of America’s Merrill have forecast as some $84 trillion in wealth transfer in the coming decades.
Robinhood plans to integrate TradePMR’s custodial platform, Fusion, into its ecosystem. Investors will be able to view their managed assets alongside self-directed investments on the same platform. TradePMR’s partnership with Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC will remain intact.
“Robinhood’s client base is the next generation of investors,” Robb Baldwin, founder and CEO of TradePMR, said in a statement. “We believe this acquisition allows us to build a multi-generational platform that will help introduce financial advisors to this next generation.”
Citi acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Robinhood, while Lazard Inc. served as the exclusive financial adviser to TradePMR.