Robinhood expands beyond crypto with US IPO access for UK investors

Robinhood has launched its IPO Access service in the United Kingdom, allowing retail investors to request shares in new US stock market listings at their official offering price before public trading begins, without paying commission fees. Summary Robinhood has launched commission-free IPO Access, allowing eligible UK investors to request shares before trading. The company introduced IPO Access in 2021 and has since participated in over 50 offerings. UK customers can request shares through general investment accounts, although IPO allocations are not guaranteed. Robinhood’s latest service follows its August launch of cryptocurrency trading through Bitstamp in the UK. According to the company’s Nov. 9 announcement, eligible UK customers can submit requests through their general investment accounts, giving them access to selected initial public offerings (IPOs) that have traditionally been available mainly to institutional investors and wealthy individuals. The service allows customers to request shares before a company begins trading on a public stock exchange. However, submitting a request does not guarantee an allocation, as the number of shares available to individual investors d...