robinhood for traders

If you work in front office markets role, can you still have a robinhood account? I will start FT at BAML/Barclays/CS this summer and was wondering if having an active robinhood account would cause a problem for the background check? Should I freeze it before the background check

9 Comments
 

won't cause a problem for your background check.

once you are employed you'll have to declare to compliance that you have that account and can no longer use it.

all of my personal trades must be done through the company trading platform, and trades must be approved by both compliance and an MD. minimum 30 day holding periods, no options. can trade etfs without approvals but still subject to holding period i think.

 

do they ask about it in the background check? Honestly, i don't have much so i don't want to deal with the paperwork and stuff. I'll close it soon but trying to decide if it's okay to wait until july-august. If I freeze my account, I don't have to declare it, right?

 

i dont think they asked for it during the background check but this is covered during onboarding. within the first week of working i needed to declare all "outside business interests" - which includes trading accounts.

i think you are ok to trade as long as you are not working for the bank. ie, you should freeze your account right before you start working.

the reason for all of this is of course as an employee, you will have access to non-public information as part of your job. you presumably don't have any right now so there's no problem with you doing whatever you want right now.

 
Most Helpful

ibd at my bank didn’t ask about accounts during background check, but we had to disclose accounts and positions during onboarding. Compliance should give you all the info you need. One thing to find out is if Robinhood is an approved broker at your bank. Some banks have been adding it as it’s gained popularity.

I mention that you might have to disclose positions during onboarding as it may be something you want to look at before starting for several reasons. Our portal sucks so it was a bitch to input the 100 shares of whatever-the-fuck that’s worth $3.00 total and the corresponding option that’s worth $0.01. The real pain is the options because we have to input the whole string of the option contract but by individual attribute.

When you onboard, you should be able to keep existing positions in single names but need approval to do anything (I.e., selling or transferring) and can’t buy more. My bank generally will allow covered calls if you own the underlying already. There are some restrictions if the names are in your coverage sector or near it. ETFs kinda fall in that ball park too. FX is a free for all (unless you’re on the FX desk, the rates desk, etc.)

We have a PDF that says yes or no on what are prohibited instruments and then if no prohibited, what needs pre-trade approval. Approval is generally pretty quick but you can get dicked over as it sits in no man’s land as your option that you wanted to roll just expires

 

Anyone know if you're allowed to use it if you signed the FT offer in summer of 2020 (incoming analyst) and dont start until the summer of 2021?

 

Hic ratione nobis repellendus quos dolor maiores. Repellat et quis tenetur debitis qui labore dolorum suscipit. Praesentium alias dolorum voluptate reprehenderit. Doloremque nulla est id a quam. Reprehenderit adipisci praesentium sunt debitis commodi qui voluptates neque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”