Robinhood to buy TradePMR for $300 million in wealth client push

Robinhood Markets agreed to buy TradePMR, a custodial and portfolio management platform for registered investment advisors, as the online brokerage seeks to target a wider swath of wealthier investors.

The deal — for about $300 million in cash and stock — is expected to close in the first half of next year, Robinhood said in a statement. Through the acquisition, TradePMR's registered investment advisors will be able to access Robinhood's clients, who will be able to easily connect with RIAs, it said.

Robinhood has expanded its offerings in the highly-competitive retail investment space by boosting its available cryptocurrencies, rolling out a credit card and even offering traders the option of betting on election outcomes. It's also targeting clients with more established levels of wealth as it seeks to challenge incumbents such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments in the fast-growing wealth management space.

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"We have this monstrous wealth transfer coming," Steve Quirk, Robinhood's chief brokerage officer, said in an interview. Advisors have traditionally gained traction with older generations and are now looking to capture the next generation which is set to inherit those assets, he said.

TradePMR, based in Gainesville, Florida, has more than $40 billion in assets under administration. The TradePMR team will join Robinhood, according to the statement.

READ MORE: TradePMR speeds up onboarding process as another dozen RIAs join custodian

"For many years, the advisor industry has discussed the issue of losing customers when assets transition to a spouse or to heirs," Robb Baldwin, TradePMR's founder and CEO, said in the statement. "Robinhood's client base is the next generation of investors."

Citigroup advised Robinhood while Lazard advised TradePMR.