Slogging About Adam Neumann, Robinhood IPO Access, and What's Next in FinTech UX?

This Slogging thread by Hang and David occurred in hackernoon's official #only-at-hackernoon channel.

I was about to drop my current ideation on WeWork and how much of a loser Adam Neumann is (he is a billion dollar loser) so that I can write something about Robinhood. Now this guy stole my thunder https://hackernoon.com/a-platform-for-the-people-robinhood-opens-its-ipo-up-to-retail-investors-b54p35e1 :smiling_face_with_tear: 😭

just that normal chill guy shoeless in the city?

He was probably talking Masa from Softbank into pouring another 70 millions to WeWork

jajajajaja.., So new news. Is RobinHood IPO Access gonna' work well?

Hopefully! So far I haven't been able to access any stonk with IPO price yet. But I'm keeping an eye on it.

It should work well. Robinhood has been very smooth so far, kudos to their product team

What do you like about their product details?

Hm good question. I just like the UI UX of the app because when you log in, right off the bat it gives you an interactive chart of how your portfolio does in 1 day, 1 week, 1 year, 5 years and all time. It's much easier to navigate than another portfolio I have, which is placed in Charles Schwab.

Second is the fractional share trading. If you want to buy just a part of a share, on Robinhood, you can go to the stock, hit buy and enter how much of that share you want to buy. On Charles Schwab, you have to go to Stock Slice, search for the stock (and it has to be in SP500 list), enter a multiply of 5, confirm with 1000 steps, then you can buy it. Robinhood helps you buy it instantly, but Charles Schwab makes you wait for roughly 30s - 1 minute, sometimes 5. And since stock price changes every second, waiting is prob not a good game to play.

Robinhood is just simpler, but it doesn't mean I don't like Charles Schwab. In term of resources for stock research, Charles Schwab is a much better place to go to. They offer you resources that can last you the whole week!

I haven't used other platforms such as Fidelity, M3 or such, but that was my experience. My only concern is that Robinhood may or may not have security issues - so I would recommend not putting all your eggs in one basket 😄

I like how they put the buyer first with fractional share trading. It shouldn't be I want to buy 5 shares of $Tesla and ppl end up paying $3,050; it should be hey I want say $3k worth of $Tesla for whatever the share price happens to be right now.

Actually you can do both of it - buy 5 shares or buy an amount worth of shares. I think they're the pioneer to offer commission-free investing/trading and other platforms followed suit, in order to not lose customers.

So software wise, what should a trading platforms product prioritize to keep and gain loyal customers?

Haha, so Im not a software developer- Idk if I should answer this.

However, I think that it depends on the type of users you are. If you are an beginner or a retail investor, chances are you go with Robinhood bc it was very loose on policy. I think platform out there should prioritize simplicity, convenience and constant updates. See the pictures below, these are my current Robinhood UIUX. I have lifetime update of my current portfolio, my stock price, and news out there. I can swipe left and right or scroll on the same screen. I have all the information I need. If I want to buy a stock, I can click the ticker and buy it, with a bunch of options already there, such as Buy/Sell at Market Price, or Buy/Sell at Limit Price. It’s very convenient for beginners.

I have familiarized myself with Charles Schwab but for some reasons I still reach Robinhood for price updates, because it’s already there while I log in. On the other hand, this is what I have logging in to Charles Schwab. It requires a couple more navigations and when you’re in need of buying something at that exact price it can be very annoying. I go to Charles Schwab only when I have my iPad or laptop, but not on my phone. And lol I’m on my phone 90% of the time.

I hope I make senses. It’s just my personal opinion, my friends use Fidelity and Charles Schwab and so far they don’t have problems with either platform. I think any platform is good for you, as each has its own pros and cons. It really only boils down to your personal preference.