US-based financial technology company Robinhood Markets has agreed to acquire custodial and portfolio management services provider TradePMR for around $300m.
According to Robinhood, TradePMR has more than 25 years of experience in the industry and $40bn in assets under administration.
It has developed an open architecture platform, dubbed Fusion, to provide an easy-to-use, advanced advisory experience to help people access wealth management services.
TradePMR has a long-term partnership with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., which provides clearing, execution, and lending services to TradePMR4.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
As part of the acquisition, TradePMR founder and CEO Robb Baldwin and the entire team will be transitioned to Robinhood to deliver the best experience and support to RIAs.
Upon closing, Robinhood and TradePMR intend to enhance their technology platform to help RIAs easily reach Robinhood customers and grow their business at scale.
According to Robinhood, the RIA market is one of the fastest-growing sectors in wealth management, and its customers are seeking to build and manage their growing portfolios.
The financial technology company expects the proposed acquisition to enhance its offering with a top-ranked RIA custody and portfolio management platform.
Through the acquisition, Robinhood plans to build an intuitive platform for advisors and clients to view their managed assets inside the Robinhood app.
Citi served as the exclusive financial advisor to Robinhood, and Lazard served as the exclusive financial advisor to TradePMR, on the transaction.
Robinhood chairman and CEO Vlad Tenev said: “The TradePMR team has one of the strongest RIA networks in the industry. We’re excited to join forces to build a category-defining advisory platform for the next generation.”
Robb Baldwin said: “For many years, the advisor industry has discussed the issue of losing customers when assets transition to a spouse or to heirs.
“Robinhood’s client base is the next generation of investors. We believe this acquisition allows us to build a multi-generational platform that will help introduce financial advisors to this next generation.”
Earlier this year, Robinhood announced the acquisition of Pluto Capital, an investment research platform offering strategies based on customer needs and financial goals.
