Stock-trading app Robinhood hires former TransferWise executive to lead UK office
Stock-trading app Robinhood has hired a former TransferWise executive to lead its London office ahead of an upcoming launch in the UK.
The US business has hired Wander Rutgers, a financial technology executive who previously worked as head of banking and international expansion at currency exchange start-up TransferWise.
Robinhood is planning to launch its stock-trading app in the UK in 2019, although it does not currently have approval to operate from the Financial Conduct Authority.
The Silicon Valley-based firm has grown to be worth over $5bn (£3.8bn) through allowing customers to invest in stocks for free. The app also lets customers trade cryptocurrencies.
Robinhood has not publicly confirmed its plans to launch in the UK, but TechCrunch reported earlier this month that the business was hiring employees in London for compliance, product design and operations roles.
Mr Rutgers’ experience in launching TransferWise in new countries during his time at the company suggests that Robinhood is also keen to target further European countries beyond the UK.
Robinhood’s new UK head has recently worked at Plum following his departure from TransferWise in 2017. Plum operates an artificial intelligence-powered bot which can provide financial advice. Mr Rutger has since left Plum to join Robinhood full-time.
A spokesman for Robinhood declined to comment.
The company’s launch in the UK will cause it to compete with British start-ups Revolut and Freetrade. Revolut said last year that it plans to allow its customers to use a new commission-free trading feature, a service which Freetrade already offers in the UK.
In December, Robinhood promised to rework a planned checking account product in the US after the business was found to lack the proper insurance for the feature.
Stephen Harbeck, the chief executive of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which provides insurance to stock brokerages, told TechCrunch that “Robinhood would be buying securities for its account and sharing a portion of the proceeds with their customers, and that’s not what we cover. I’ve never seen a single document on this. I haven’t been consulted on this.”
