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Dr Diane Reynolds's avatar

Matt is a joke. This piece is ridiculous

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goutham's avatar

Matt is one of the best journos out there.

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Dr Diane Reynolds's avatar

A journalist would actually show proof that Robinhood makes people lose money

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goutham's avatar

He is not calling for a cancellation shit. He is giving rational analysis on whats gng on.

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Dr Diane Reynolds's avatar

Sorry, cancelation what? No, he's just repeating talking points. There's not rational analysis here, just some anecdotes, and the intimation of a dark motive.

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ThePossum's avatar

@diane reynolds, there are documented issues with RH and other financial apps, not to mention every ecommerce site on the planet, that use dark patterns to drive behavior. Matt's piece uses the term "mousetrap" effectively, I think, in that yeah, you may get the cheese, but you're more likely to get your neck snapped.

From WIRED (https://www.wired.com/story/financial-apps-investing-dark-patterns/)

"Robinhood, the investing app, uses a gamified interface to make investing seem easier than it is, encouraging its users to trade frequently, which most personal finance experts do not recommend for long-term investing."

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Dr Diane Reynolds's avatar

That dark, lazy characterization of a product that millions of people use as a first chance to participate in the capital markets is exactly what I'm criticizing. Easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize something that created an opportunity for millions of people. It is democratizing. Of course it also democratizes losing money, but that's personal responsibility.

Finance experts are probably correct, but there's a conflict of interest in their opinion. Of course they would prefer you handle your savings to them, for a fee.

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ThePossum's avatar

FWIW I don't use RH, nor any financial planning or management app. I'm both financially literate and aware of my digital surroundings having been in the UX field professionally for many years.

I absolutely agree that it democratizes losing money which is why my initial comment on the article was "caveat emptor." There is nothing illegal about the firm or the app. But just as I wouldn't recommend learning how to drive a manual transmission in a Porsche 911 Carrera S, I wouldn't recommend RH for the financial novice.

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Dos Chihuahuas's avatar

LOL. Then why are you here?

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Dr Diane Reynolds's avatar

I asked for a refund but didn't get one

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ThePossum's avatar

@diane i'm glad you're on here. you bring valid arguments to the conversation, and demand that others do the same. i only wish andrew sullivan would update his substack to allow commenting ;-)

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Sherry's avatar

Her arguments don't seem valid to me. She's just oppositional.

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Bob Robertini's avatar

Her point is simple - RH is a tool. Caveat emptor on using it. Does RH make certain types of investing "too easy"? Maybe. So what? I like using it for options trading but I also don't do leveraging. If you don't know what you're doing, you're going to crush yourself on RH. Like many things in life, unless you understand the risks you're taking before you take them, you're going to learn the hard way.

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Sherry's avatar

You must work for them.

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