By Bill Nesbit
Having been a day trader, swing trader, and part time investor for over 10 years now, I’ve used my fair share of stock brokers and paid out more than I ever care to remember in fees, commissions etc. So the appeal of the new $0 commission Robinhood Stock Trading App seemed too good to be true for me and I couldn’t wait to try it out and see if the hype was real or if there was really a catch to this $0 commission business. After waiting in line for a year, (now you can download it immediately) I was finally able to download the app for myself and buy my first stock with it. So here’s my review of the Robinhood Stock Trading App thus far—I absolutely love it!
Yes with anything they’re down sides, but they promised me $0 commissions and guess what? They delivered—It’s FREE! I’ve been using this app for over a year now and have to date traded around 100 stocks with it and I still haven’t been charged a single penny to use it! I find that their executions are on par with other brokers I’ve used. (Or at the very least, fast enough to be worth $0 instead of paying $9.95 a trade or more!) Also, if you don’t sign up for a margin account, then you don’t have to worry about the Pattern Day Trading Rule which is a plus for day traders with low account balances. (However margin accounts will soon be available if you wish to go that route.) There are no funding minimums. You can fund your account with $1 dollar and up and all deposits are free making getting or depositing your money a snap. (It usually takes 3 to 5 business days to fund, withdraw, or wait to settle after a trade; sometimes less.)I love the look of the app and find it very easy to use. For me, it’s much easier to use than other mobile platforms I’ve tried. Robinhood offers both Apple and Android compatibility downloads which is nice since I have an Android phone. I’ve found the real secret to using the Robinhood app is to trade with it while watching a real time stock chart or level two from a desk top computer or from other trading programs. (I still use my Think Or Swim account for this purpose.) The Robinhood app is very good for swing traders also as you can set GTC stop losses or place limit or market sells/buys. The app keeps track of all accounts, history of your buy/sells, deposits, and any gains or losses for the day, month, or year-to-date.The down side to the Robinhood Stock Trading App is that they don’t allow for short selling, which I do hate; but I keep other accounts for this purpose. I would also love to have an OCO bid option where I could set a stop loss and an upper target limit sell at the same time since I can’t always be around to watch the stock prices move. Other than those two negatives, for me, the Robinhood Stock Trading App is well worth the $0 dollars you have to pay for it! Try it out for yourself—It’s really free and I think your portfolio will grow to love it!
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