The apparent suicide of a 20-year-old investor on Robinhood Markets Inc.’s phone-based securities trading app after what appeared to be significant losses has attracted scrutiny in Congress, with lawmakers contemplating legislation or hearings on the matter.
The app, which the company says has 10 million users, allows people to trade stocks, options and cryptocurrencies without fees. Lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee say the company may allow customers to access risky trading strategies without proper due diligence, which Robinhood denies.
Hours before his death in June, Alexander Kearns’ app displayed a negative balance of $730,000, according to family members. His suicide note — shared by Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., at a Financial Services subcommittee hearing last month — read in part: “I was a 20-year-old with no income able to be assigned almost a million dollars worth of leverage … I had no clue what I was doing now in hindsight. There was no intention to take on so much risk.”
Kearns, who was a student at the University of Nebraska, died in his parents’ home in Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb home to three congressional districts. His death brought swift congressional scrutiny to Robinhood, led by members representing his state and hometown.
In conversations with CQ Roll Call, members voiced concerns about investors’ access to options and margin trading through the app and questioned whether Robinhood adequately screened customers before granting access to riskier strategies.
"Trading" - Google News
July 28, 2020 at 06:05PM
https://ift.tt/2P8HzJj
Death draws lawmakers' scrutiny to Robinhood's trading app - Roll Call
"Trading" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2tBJjTS
https://ift.tt/3djUFhc
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Death draws lawmakers' scrutiny to Robinhood's trading app - Roll Call"
Post a Comment