Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev laid out the roadmap for retail trading companies (NASDAQ: HOOD) showing a departure from the typical online brokerage model and a move towards what he called “the family office in your pocket.”
We will talk in an expanded interview with Ice coffee hour The podcast, TENEV, has detailed its vision for a multi-generational financial platform that can expand access to investments, consolidate tokenized assets, and streamline services for age-class users.
Tenev said the company is responding to major changes in the way Americans approach investment, leading young users to discretionary spending to stocks, technology and cryptocurrency.
“If it wasn’t for Robin Hood, I wouldn’t be an investor. I would probably spend this money,” he said, referring to customer feedback. He noted that the platform’s assets in detention exceed $100 million and that the average account size has grown to five numbers as more users consolidate their investment activities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4kmylltpcgu
One more pointy purpose is to turn Robinhood into a platform that can handle the “great wealth transfer” expected for decades to come.
TENEV argued that while incumbent companies often struggle to create strong multi-user offerings, Robinhood is working to make it easier for families to manage finances, including offerings for children and parents together. He said, “We assume services that anyone can work, whether you’re zero or 100, as you know.
The company is also expanding access to minors through its pilot program and new regulatory initiatives, linking it to a broader effort to grasp the family’s long-term wealth management needs. TENEV has linked these ideas directly to government-backed initiatives like Invest America.
Tokenized asset revolution and private investment
Robinhood invests in technology that allows retail investors to create tokenized assets, including US stocks, private companies and real estate. TENEV calls tokenization “the biggest innovation in the capital market for over a decade,” highlighting a prototype involving European live pilots and SpaceX and Openai.
The goal he described is to allow users around the world to access US stocks and trade them around the clock, and ultimately allow them to add traditionally difficult-to-reach investments such as art, real estate and private equity to their portfolio.
Robinhood already offers tokenized stocks to its clients. This is a move that has proven to be extremely popular, but has attracted the attention of regulators.
We are handing out stock tokens for Open AI and SpaceX’s first private company.
If you are a Robinhood EU customer and are eligible, you can request a token until July 7th.
-Robinhood EU (@robinhoodapp_eu) June 30, 2025
Current regulations on certified investors remain an obstacle to fully democratizing private market access. “Unless you’re a high net worth individual, you can’t invest in private companies… This will shut down 80% of people from investments in private companies,” says Tenev. He argued that the rules felt outdated, especially as private technology and AI companies remained out of reach of the average investor.
The World Exchange Federation recently warned that tokenized assets such as stocks could undermine the integrity of the market. However, Robin Hood has built a reputation for confusing existing people. Without food, a fee-free trading revolution could never have happened.
You might like it too: Everything you need to know about tokenized stocks in 2025
Social trading is “sexy” again
Originally launched as a social networking tool for investors, Robinhood is considering resuming social functions such as voluntary portfolio sharing and copy trading, weighing privacy concerns and regulatory risks.
“We launched it as a social network in 2013,” Tenev added that the company had imagined a stock analysis of democratization.
Social features have been shelved to focus on fee-free transactions, but TV says, “We sometimes think about so many things to build these kinds of products with our DNA.
Tenev also suggested that the company would move further into physical asset investments, allowing assets such as real estate and collectibles to be owned, tracked or even transferred in a simplified digital form. Partnerships such as those with mortgage providers can further integrate property ownership into the app.
Balance of regulations, size and customer demand
Tenev said the evolution of Robinhood is about tightening the link between price, user experience and access. He pointed to fee-free transactions as being transformative, but emphasized that new product launches, including personalized investment matches and asset classes, will drive future growth.
He also reflected the misstep, particularly in the GameStop controversy, to highlight the balance between communication and regulatory compliance. “It was just to comply with regulatory requirements… If you don’t, they can come and close your business,” he said of the infamous trading halt.
Robinhood’s ambitions may try to bypass traditional funding limits by combining technology, access to a wide range of assets and integrated family services into one platform, but many will depend on regulations and market adoption.
“If we can serve all our financial needs, someone like me, it should accumulate in everyone,” Tenev concluded.
