Robinhood Markets, the trading platform behind the boom-and-bust swing in GameStop’s shares, plans to list its shares on Nasdaq in New York this year, according to media reports.
The company has not officially filed for the listing as yet. However, Robinhood plans to confidentially file for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this month, CNBC and Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources
Robinhood surged in popularity during the pandemic due to monetary easing by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks, putting more money into people’s pockets during Covid-19 lockdowns. Homebound young people turned to its trading app to make money.
The company, which has been targeting a 2021 IPO since at least last year, was at the centre of the stock trading frenzy driven by Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, which drove up the share price of US video-game retailer GameStop and movie theatre chain AMC Entertainment Holdings.
The online broker drew criticism for restricting trading in GameStop shares and other heavily shorted companies, denying investors a chance to book profits. The platform said it limited trading in GameStop to boost its cash buffers and pay for clearing house deposits.
“There will likely be some concern about the platform's trading halt diluting GameStop, but investors will look through this one-off incident in favour of the new wave of retail trading euphoria,” Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, said.
“It's a good time for Robinhood to leverage this momentum as I think this will pass when trading in stocks gets more complicated by central bank policy and internal and regulatory oversight to curb toxic flashmob-type trading.”
Robinhood encountered a cash crunch four weeks ago and raised $3.4 billion from its backers to post more collateral with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the industry’s clearinghouse. The DTCC wanted members to post more cash to ensure they could clear trades, given wild swings in stocks including GameStop and AMC.
The trading app has also faced regulatory inquiries. Robinhood Financial said in a filing that it’s in talks with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to settle an investigation regarding March 2020 app outages and options trading.
Goldman Sachs is advising Robinhood on its IPO, according to CNBC. The online broker, which was valued at $11.7bn in a funding round last year, raised financing this year that will convert to equity in a public offering.
The stock trading app added 3 million users in January alone, according to estimates from JMP Securities.
New York-based D1 Partners, Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and Google’s venture capital arm, GV are some of Robinhood’s biggest venture capital investors.
The online broker also faced a public backlash when Alex Kearns, a 20-year-old college student in the US killed himself in June last year after mistakenly believing he had lost a fortune to Robinhood. Critics then accused the trading app of allowing inexperienced investors to take big risks in complex financial instruments without providing investment guidance or the necessary customer support.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
more from Janine di Giovanni
Take Me Apart
Kelela
(Warp)
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m
Race card for Super Saturday
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dh918,125) (Dirt) 1,900m.
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m.
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m.
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-cylinder%2C%204.8-litre%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E280%20brake%20horsepower%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E451Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh153%2C00%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER
Directed by: Michael Fimognari
Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo
Two stars
Scoreline
Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)
Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
