The world stood in a standstill when Alexander Kearns took his own life after an apparent misunderstanding. He expressed his deep anger at the millennial-centric broker. Kearns stated in his note that he did not know what he was doing. This led Robinhood to make some changes in their trading platform.
It was first reported that the 20-year-old committed suicide after he saw the negative $730,000 in his broker account. Following the pandemic, many others have turned their attention to trading. Robinhood saw 3 million newly-created accounts during the first quarter of 2020 alone.
Founders Issue a Statement
As a response, Robinhood founders, Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt issued a statement. They promised to make massive changes to their platform including their qualification measures and the platform’s interface so as to prevent any more tragedies.
The founders promised to make changes to their user interface. Kearn’s account reflected $16,000 and that the negative $730,000 was mistaken as the amount he owed. They will also add new criteria and educational resources in their help center to help their users understand the nature of options trading.
Robinhood hired an “Options Education Specialist” to enhance its educational initiatives. Their immediate changes include changes in in-app messages and notifications. In addition to this, they will also add more information to their platform about the mechanics of early-option assignments.
Risks of Trading
Some sources suggest that the platform’s selling point which includes “zero-commission” and “gamified” interface may mislead newbie traders. There are risks in trading, and before you dive deep into it, further reading and education must be done first.
Robinhood also pledged $250,000 to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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