Robinhood Hires From Its Regulator as Scrutiny of Company Mounts
- Brokerage adds two Finra executives as it looks to go public
- Company has faced regulatory scrutiny amid soaring popularity
Robinhood Markets Inc. has hired two officials from its front-line regulator as the fast-growing brokerage looks to move beyond a series of compliance problems and prepares for an expected initial public offering later this year.
Josh Drobnyk joined the firm this week as vice president of corporate relations and communications, while Anthony Cavallaro will start early next month as head of regulatory services and fraud oversight for its Robinhood Financial subsidiary, the company said in a statement Thursday. Both come from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the industry-funded brokerage watchdog.
With its user-friendly smartphone app and commission-free trades, Robinhood has seen an explosion in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic, attracting scores of neophyte investors into the markets. Robinhood’s rapid growth -- it counts more than 13 million customers -- has put the company in the crosshairs of lawmakers as well as state and federal regulators, who have accused the firm of not doing enough to protect its less-sophisticated clientele.