Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Synergize. I'm Bill Capel, Director of Client Growth at Trade PMR by Robinhood. And I'm Ryan Neal, Editorial Manager at Trade PMR by Robinhood. And welcome to our Synergy Summer Series. We're taping these from the conference floor at Synergy 26 in Washington, D .C. That's right, Ryan. We're live here in Washington, D .C.
Speaker: And all summer long, we're going to be sharing plenty of insights and actionable ideas that you can use to build your business. So let's get into the episode.
Speaker: And welcome back to the Synergize podcast. We are coming to you again from the Synergy 26 conference floor in Washington, D .C. I've got with me Pat Dunn. He's our senior director of CX and head of concierge services with Robinhood. He was just on stage here to talk about the Robinhood customer. Who are they really? And he was on stage with none other than co -host Bill Capel.
Speaker: So I'm gonna let these guys take away a bit. Gentlemen. What should our audience at home know about the panel you just did? They don't know anything yet. Hopefully they'll learn soon. but We had the opportunity to spend time with Pat. Pat and I have worked closely together over the last 18 months or so.
Speaker: ah to really begin to understand the Robinhood client. That's what we really want to talk to you about today. if you Ask the industry. Most. think that the Robinhood client is obviously young,
Speaker: trading you know trading driven. and not a lot of experience and certainly not ready for advice. However, that view. is increasingly obsolete and incomplete. And that's what we want to talk to you about today. So we've got Pat Dunn with us.
Speaker: to answer some some of those questions. Yeah, thank you for having me. Thank you both. And so what I would tag onto that, Bill, is when you think of the Robinhood investor, though that May.
Speaker: And I don't believe it to have been true 16 years ago. It may have been a little closer to the truth, but... What I would describe today is that that couldn't be further from the truth. our Our customers... Their sophistication level is through the roof. They've really adopted technology, AI, access to all the resources, whether it's in our app or whether it's from one of the the AI apps that we all know and love.
Speaker: They're really engaged with technology. They're engaged with their portfolios. um and And a lot of them are very, very technical traders. um and And yeah, I'd say it meets the whole spectrum. But people would be surprised how sophisticated our customers actually are.
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: yeah I think, you know, when the some news came out about the concierge program yeah and the press, advisors had varying reactions on it. So I think it would really help our audience know, like, what exactly is the concierge service and why did you guys launch it? yeah i Why did we launch it? I love getting asked that because, look, with all the technology change, there's a lot of fear, uncertainty, doubt. you know robin hood's coming out and they're they're advertising hiring cfps and look i'm just trying to keep my workforce up to speed with the sophistication that
Speaker: is coming on board to our platform. And so I know you're asking how this all come about. if If you rewind a couple years back, look, our our service has really, you know, has gone a long way.
Speaker: um and we're all very proud of that but still it wasn't meeting the quality the speed um and all the other expectations that we have. And so when you look at our customer base,
Speaker: What I was seeing was... a lion's share of the revenue high revenue customers, the most active traders. They were driving, obviously, bulk of the revenue. They were the most unhappy.
Speaker: And that's not okay as a business owner. and so it was a couple years ago met with vlad we had a whole kaizen in Menlo Park. And we walked away with... Let's build this team. Let's build a team of all -stars. Let's pull our most engaged. customers.
Speaker: um Let's put them together. and it has really gotten wheels and we've built this into a relationship machine where We're matching up our our most skilled. representatives. with our best, most active customers.
Speaker: And our goal is to just make it a better experience for all. They're telling us what they need product -wise. They're telling us what they want as a customer. And I have a direct pipeline to product. to build iterate so i play a major role in forming where our product strategy roadmap goes
Speaker: And that's right, Pat, because... At this event, we launched... a new or announced the launching of a new service that's going to be complimentary if you will with The concierge service in that is the Robin Hood Advisor Network. Yes. And I want to talk a little bit about that in the context of this question. so Do Robinhood clients want... health.
Speaker: Unequivocally, yes. Okay, and let's talk a little bit about yeah what that means. Yeah, and i think I think help is a... help is a spectrum help is like a frontier i think some people We'll try and...
Speaker: Put three buckets here on our table and they'll say, this person's self -directed, this person's full of... No. it is picture it's not a bucket it's a full tank of water and that water is going to slosh from side to side and one side is going to be fully empowered self -directed another side is here's the keys of the car the reality though in a tank the water doesn't just sit on one side it may tilt to the other but um Yeah, I would say really these customers when they're looking for help. It could be help as far as what happened with this trade.
Speaker: But what we're finding over time is our customer base is growing. They're growing in dollars. They're growing in affluency. They're growing in their own skill sets and sophistication.
Speaker: You're seeing that water slosh to the other side where they're they're having unique needs, they're having estate questions, they're having planning questions. And that's why we're so excited about. this advisor network to be able to partner, to be able to get them the help that they need. when they need it in those crucial moments. And they represent.
Speaker: where all the money's heading. right So yeah what we're having is a glimpse of when I came into the business. The realities of the economics of inheritance were very different. They're much larger today. yep And... This enormous amount that we talk about, whosoever quote you want to listen to, whatever number you want to listen to, it's big, right?
Speaker: and you know And I happen to have two folks here that are actually of that generation, are those clients. Hopefully you're both in line for something. but But it's getting more complicated, as you mentioned, Pat. And I think what would be interesting to you know share with our listeners is...
Speaker: yeah What are you hearing specifically from clients that are pointing to the need for advice? Yeah, I think... you know I mentioned this on stage, one of the things that we're seeing a lot with this this bull market that we've... we've been in is people are seeing wealth and having wealth that they've never had before. One of the one of the most common topics is is tax strategy. How do I... How do I win the long term? tax game.
Speaker: We're seeing now people building their legacies. oh i got I got twin 11 -year -old daughters. We're having kids. were We're growing up in life. And that takes a little extra step of maturity, a little extra step of sophistication to realize How do I secure my legacy? How do I make sure?
Speaker: the girls are taken care of, and you're seeing... all these complex needs like that hey you know i was very fortunate i was at robin hood pre -ipo what do you do with now these these cost -based shares and so people We're walking the same walk as our customers. We're talking to them every day. And those are the type of really complexities that are starting to step in.
Speaker: that i'm so excited to to be working with this rand network because We need to be in a place where we can truly help these these customers. Amen.
Speaker: So when you're saying RAN, you're talking about the Robin Hood Advisor Network. Right. That's right. you know I know our our compliance friends are listening and want us to get that clear. Well, one thing I'm curious about is, you know, we are a technology company, Robinhood, and trade people are by Robinhood. So where does technology play a role in the concierge service? And how is that helping you guys serve serve these clients, serve these customers? Yeah. ah Look, I...
Speaker: I started, I lead our concierge team, but I'm also a senior manager in ops. And for me, it's how do we leverage technology to get the talent my agents my representatives to be with the customer as often as possible and so for me it's figuring out technology on both ends number one what does the customer need want and expect
Speaker: How do I make sure I'm working with product to get things like that out? That could be anything from our agentic trading that we just launched to a new feature getting released. On the other side, it's on the agent side. How are we using technology to minimize their downtime?
Speaker: to allow them to understand what is coming down the pipe, which customer's next in line, what do we know about them, so they can spend the time where it truly matters building the relationship. and helping the true need with the customer. And so we're using technology on on both ends, and I think it's just going to continue to accelerate. and My hope is that it's going to give more time to to spend.
Speaker: on those moments that are really important, those complex moments that matter. So Pat, I want to dispel this myth. We explored it. on our panel. just a few minutes ago when we were on stage. And that myth that the world of advice is binary, either you're totally self -directed or you're totally advised. What are you seeing emerge at Robinhood?
Speaker: with the needs of clients, and is there a middle ground? Oh, I mean... yeah Absolutely. There's... There's the middle ground, I think. I think one of the biggest issues with any business that you run is people try and just put people in a box. And this isn't a box. This isn't a binary.
Speaker: solution everything is fluid like i was explaining earlier and i think spectrum yeah You're exactly right. It's a spectrum. People's lives are fluid. um Events can happen at any time. And it could happen either way. yeah It could be, you know, maybe your employment situation changed or now you're retired and and you want to own more of this. But more often times than not, what we're seeing right now, especially with our demographic.
Speaker: it's It's like us. We're seeing more complexity come into our lives. We're seeing our lives get busier, our careers hopefully for most of us taking off. And now we need that. that extra help, that that human interaction during those complex moments.
Speaker: and uh yeah really excited about robin hood advisor network to help kind of accelerate and bring. a better solution, an additional solution to our our products. zone Yeah. So, Pat, thank you so much for joining the podcast. One thing we like to do here for our listeners is wrap the episode up with one piece of actionable advice. So for anyone that's listening at home, what's one takeaway from your panel maybe that you'd like to leave them with?
Speaker: Yeah, I think no matter how cool all this technology is, and I'm an early adopter, I'm the razor's edge guy. i got subscriptions to all the big AI companies. I think no matter how much technology accelerates,
Speaker: Humans have been around for billions of years were social creatures. Don't ever underestimate the power of a human connection and how us as a species yearn. to connect. with humans. I think you're going to always see technology around it's going to accelerate.
Speaker: but hopefully those moments. are going to become more frequent and more profound and more impactful. because of technology. I don't think this is ah a space where technology is going to make that obsolete. You're not going to get what you want. from a computer.
Speaker: Great answer. Well, ah Pat, thanks for ah connecting with us here on the podcast.
Speaker: If you want to join the conversation or connect with us, please visit us at synergizepodcast dot com
Speaker: This content is provided for general information purposes only. The views expressed by non -affiliated guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Trade PMR or its affiliates. Trade PMR and its affiliates do not endorse any guest speakers or their companies and therefore give no assurances as to the quality of their products and services. This channel is not monitored by Trade PMR. Trade PMR does not provide investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice. Trade PMR is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Trade PMR Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, MSRB.
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Speaker: For a transcript of this episode with sources visit synergizepocast dot
