Retail Investors Flock to US Stock Market... Robinhood Downloads Up 55% in February

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The number of downloads of Robinhood, a free securities app popular among individual investors in the United States, recorded a significant increase in February following January.

On the 10th (local time), CNBC reported citing JMP Securities' SimilarWeb app download data that the number of Robinhood app downloads in February reached 2.1 million, a 55% increase compared to the same month last year.

Previously, in January, the number of Robinhood app downloads was even higher at 3.6 million.

The average monthly downloads of the Robinhood app surged starting last year (1,419,972 downloads), following 566,960 in 2018 and 787,569 in 2019.

Downloads of securities apps such as Fidelity, E-Trade, and TD Ameritrade also increased but fell far short compared to Robinhood.

As a result, Robinhood has become a term symbolizing individual stock investors (Gaemi) in the U.S. However, Robinhood faced criticism for restricting individual stock trading during the GameStop incident, also called the "Gaemi Rebellion."

CNBC analyzed, "The increase in securities app downloads shows that new individual investors continue to enter the stock market," adding, "Due to remote work and cash support from government stimulus measures, individual stock investment is likely to continue growing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.